FORT MYERS, Fla. – Zavian McLean registered a co-game-high 23 points, which is a career best Thursday in Alico Arena, but the effort was not enough as Florida Gulf Coast University men's basketball fell 92-74 to Eastern Kentucky University. The Eagles are now in a five-way tie for first place with Lipscomb, North Alabama, Queens and Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings with an 8-3 record.
"EKU was on fire, and it's not as if we were not," head coach
Pat Chambers said. "They just shot the ball better, and it was also the first night we didn't have
Rahmir Barno. His absence was absolutely felt. We have to move on quickly and just learn from this and head to UNF to steal a road game."
Rapid Recap:
The Colonels started hot, jumping out to a 28-16 advantage that featured six three-pointers. Turner Buttry was responsible for five of those triples. The Eagles finally responded with a 7-2 run featuring three points from McLean to close the gap to 30-23. Despite the push from the Eagles, the Colonels answered with an 18-10 punch to head to the locker room up 48-33.
The Green & Blue came out of the half and tried matching EKU's offensive energy, scoring 24 points to the Colonel's 20 to get within reach, 68-57, with 11:46 to go. McLean led the charge as he scored 13 of those points. The North Carolina native finished the night going 9-12 in field goals while registering six rebounds and a pair of steals. He remained on the court for 35 minutes.
The Eagles fans still saw light at the tunnel being down by 11, but EKU ensured it wrapped up the win and removed FGCU from its sole first-place seat, outscoring FGCU 24-17 to win 92-74.
Dallion Johnson registered 18 points and was 4-4 at the charity stripe, also playing the most minutes among the Eagles with 36.
Notes and Numbers:
- With the loss, FGCU blemished its perfect 5-0 at-home record in conference play.
- The Eagles fell to 13-11 overall and are now 8-3 in the ASUN.
- Despite the loss, FGCU has won seven out of its last nine and 10 out of its last 13 games.
- The Green and Blue dominated in the paint with 46 points and went 14-for-22 at the free-throw-line.
- FGCU allowed 17 treys from EKU.
Up Next:
FGCU heads to North Florida (12-11, 5-5 ASUN) Saturday, Feb. 8, for a 5 p.m. tip
