FORT MYERS, Fla. — Chase Konieczny scored a career-high 27 points but another impressive second-half run couldn't bring the Eagles over the hump for a second game in a row as FGCU dropped an offensive battle to FIU, 89-80. Alico Arena was host to a crowd of 2,263, the fourth-largest crowd to ever watch an FGCU-FIU game.
FGCU (1-3) used an 8-0 second-half run that cut a 12-point deficit to four with 4:47 remaining. The Panthers (3-0) led 50-41 at halftime, and the teams each scored 39 points after the break. The Eagles finished with 36 points in the paint, went 20-for-23 at the free-throw line but committed 11 turnovers.
Konieczny led Florida Gulf Coast with 27 points, hitting four 3-pointers and adding a career-best seven rebounds and three assists.
Elijah Brooks finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Darren Williams scored 13 points with three 3-pointers and four rebounds.
Bryson Lucas added 10 points, went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line and recorded three steals.
Florida International shot 21-for-38 (55.3%) in the first half, including 6-for-15 (40%) from 3-point range, and carried a 50-41 lead into halftime. The Green & Blue went 14-for-28 from the field (50%) and 9-for-10 (90%) at the free-throw line, but the Panthers held advantages in points in the paint (26-20), points off turnovers (11-5) and bench scoring (20-1).
The Eagles played the Panthers even in the second half, with each team scoring 39 points, and used an 8-0 stretch from 7:48 to 4:47 to cut a 77-65 deficit to 77-73. Florida International made 15 of 31 field-goal attempts while Florida Gulf Coast went 12-for-34, and the Panthers added seven blocks with a 20-17 rebounding edge.
Chase Konieczny's 3-pointer with 1:22 left brought the Eagles within 85-80, but Florida International closed out an 89-80 win.
Trey Beamer scored 29 points on 13 field goals and added three steals to lead FIU. Seydina N'Diaye finished with six points, six rebounds and four blocks. Andreas Holst hit three 3-pointers and tallied nine points. Noah Mendy recorded five rebounds and two blocks.
After the Eagles' loss,
Pat Chambers said the focus has to shift to getting stops rather than searching for offense, noting, "I feel like we're too focused on the offensive end. Look, our offense is not the problem. We just scored 80 points. We scored 72 points against Georgia, who I just heard beat North Carolina. We scored plenty of points against Central Florida. It's not the offense."
Chambers added that "we're giving up way too many points and we have to go back to the drawing board and see what we can do to get some stops," while also pointing to a better push after halftime: "I just thought our second half we competed a little bit better. I thought we had our opportunities. We cut it to 4 and just couldn't get over the hump."
In the first half, Florida International stretched the margin to 32-22 before Brooks helped the Green & Blue answer with three layups, including one after his steal at 7:14 that brought Florida Gulf Coast within 32-27, and Konieczny and Williams later helped trim it to 38-37 on Williams' 3-pointer at 3:57. The Panthers closed the half with baskets from Trey Beamer, Huascar Cuevas, Justin Román and Holst, while Konieczny's two late free throws set the halftime score at 50-41.
After Williams scored inside at 19:41 to make it 50-43, Florida International answered with layups by Seydina N'Diaye and Beamer and a Corey Caulker 3-pointer to push the score to 57-43. The Eagles later cut into the margin with
Justin Houser free throws, a Konieczny 3-pointer and
CJ Outlaw's layup after a
Gabe Tanner steal to make it 71-63, but the Panthers moved back ahead 77-65 on a Trey Beamer jumper.
Outlaw, Konieczny and Brooks accounted for an 8-0 Florida Gulf Coast run from 7:48 to 4:47, trimming Florida International's lead from 77-65 to 77-73. The Panthers rebuilt the margin to 85-77 before Konieczny hit a 3-pointer at 1:22 and Brooks made a steal at :50 with the Eagles within 85-80, but Florida International closed with a Mason Blazer layup and two Tijan Saine Jr. free throws to finish an 89-80 final.
Up next, the Eagles host Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (2-4) on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Noon at Alico Arena. ABAC plays at Thomas (Ga.) University on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Game Notes
- Elijah Brooks - Recorded his first block of the 2026-27 season.
- Gabe Tanner - Recorded his first steal of the 2026-27 season.
- CJ Outlaw - Recorded a season-high four total points.
- CJ Outlaw - Blocked a shot for the first time this season.
- Darren Williams - Recorded his first steal of the 2026-27 season.
- Florida Gulf Coast recorded eight steals in the game, setting a new season high.
- Chase Konieczny tallied career highs in points (27) and rebounds (7). It marked his first 20-plus-point performance.
- The crowd of 2,263 is the fourth-largest crowd to see an Eagles-Panthers game.
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