Eagles men, women beat USCU
Seniors produced 11 of the final 15 points over the last six minutes Thursday night as FGCU came from behind to beat USC Upstate in a key Atlantic Sun Conference matchup at Spartanburg, S.C.
The win leaves the Eagles (13-7, 3-1 A-Sun) one game out of first place in the conference standings.
Redshirt junior Julian DeBose recorded a season-high 18 points, 14 coming in the first half, to lead a quartet of FGCU double-figure scorers. Senior Bernard Thompson added 14, including a vital three-pointer to extend the Eagles’ lead to six with a little more than a minute remaining.
After playing just six minutes in the first half because of two fouls, senior Brett Comer tallied 10 points, five of those in the final 3:12 of the contest. Redshirt senior Jamail Jones also added 10, including a huge baseline three-pointer to help set the stage for the final five minutes of the contest.
“We made shots early and that always helps. The big thing that happened was that our first-shot defense was really good, but they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the first half,” said Eagles coach Joe Dooley said. “In the second half they extended their defense and we were able to dribble penetrate a little bit more to get some points in the paint.”
With the win, just FGCU’s second on the road this season, the Eagles remain one game back of North Florida and Lipscomb in the A-Sun standings. Both teams won Thursday to move to 4-0 in the league. One of those two teams won’t finish the weekend that way as they square off in Nashville Saturday.
FGCU concludes its first A-Sun weekend road trip when it travels to Georgia to face Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon.
(Women) FGCU 79, USC Upstate 61: For the fifth-straight season, the Eagles opened conference play with a 4-0 mark after defeating USC Upstate Thursday night at Alico Arena. The Eagles, who extended their current winning streak to 12 games, overpowered the Spartans to move to 17-2 on the season and remain undefeated in conference play.
The Eagles started the contest with a quick 7-2 run and never relinquished the lead. Using 44 points in the paint and points from 10 different players, FGCU dominated Upstate inside and extended the lead to a game-high 32 points late in the second half. Upstate cut the deficit in the final minutes, but the Eagles held onto the momentum for the team’s 58th straight home conference victory.
Junior Whitney Knight paced the Eagles with 17 points, while classmate Katie Meador contributed a career-high 14 points with five made field goals. For the third time in as many games, DyTiesha Dunson put up double figures with 11 points to round out the team’s double-digit scorers.
Riding the nation’s ninth-best winning streak, the Eagles continue A-Sun play Saturday night at Alico Arena against Kennesaw State.