South Dakota State topples FGCU men
Aside from a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, FGCU scored just two other points over the final 6:50 of the game and surrendered a 56-52 decision to South Dakota State (10-2) Saturday night at Alico Arena.
Redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds and was responsible for half of the Eagles’ points. The Eagles held the Jackrabbits (10-2) to just 30.9 percent shooting, representing a season-best performance by FGCU.
Norelia’s jumper with 6:50 remaining gave the Eagles (6-5) a 47-45 lead. The next field goal for either team came more than three minutes later when SDSU’s Jake Bittle converted a layup to put the Jackrabbits in front, 48-47. The advantage swelled to 51-47 with 1:30 left before sophomore Christian Terrell finished a layup.
Following a stop, Terrell had a chance to tie the game at 51-51 with 40 seconds left, but his open jumper from the extended elbow was just long. From there, SDSU pushed its lead to 55-49 before Terrell hit the Eagles’ final 3-pointer.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles, who welcome 9-2 Louisiana Tech to Alico Arena on Tuesday. The Bulldogs entered Saturday having won at Ohio State.
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In San Juan, FGCU’s women used a relentless defense and a season-high 30 points by senior Kaneisha Atwater to defeat Western Michigan 60-42 Monday in the final game of the Puerto Rico Classic.
The result gives the Eagles two wins in three tournament games to move to 9-4 on the year. The Eagles also scored a 57-55 win over Arizona Sunday after falling 65-60 to No. 9 Mississippi State on Saturday in the first game of the tournament.
FGCU now breaks for the Christmas holiday before returning to Alico Arena for the final three games of their nonconference schedule. The Eagles host Quinnipiac next Monday and welcomes Auburn and Hartford on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 before conference play begins.
FGCU and Western Michigan traded the lead twice and matched each other’s scores four times in the first half before an 11-point run to start the third quarter enabled the Eagles to steal the game’s momentum. The Eagles outscored WMU 19-9 in the third period and increased the lead with stronger shooting in the fourth quarter.
“I really liked our execution to start the second half,” said Eagles coach Karl Smesko. “We made a nice run at the beginning of the third quarter. Atwater was exceptional for us and we played good defense throughout so once we got a lead we were able to keep it.
Atwater led all players with a season-high 30 points to score exactly half of FGCU’s points. Taylor Gradinjan added 10 points for FGCU.
The Eagles held control through the first two quarters Sunday and took a 33-30 lead into halftime, but Arizona made a strong push in the second half. The Wildcats finished the third period on a 10-1 run to take a 46-41 lead and held onto the advantage until the final minutes.
FGCU trailed 51-46 with five minutes to play when Atwater powered the Eagles to the win with seven points over the final four minutes as the Eagles outscored Arizona 11-4.
Atwater paced the Eagles with a total of 14 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. Gradinjan contributed 12 points including a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles a two-possession lead.
The Eagles earned their first win over a Pac-12 team and now hold a ‘W’ over a team from each of the five power conferences since the 2011-12 season.
On Saturday, Mississippi State led 41-29 at halftime, but with a 21-9 push the Eagles tied the contest at 53-53 to open the last quarter. The five-point win stands as MSU’s smallest margin of victory of the year as the Bulldogs have outscored opponents by an average of 38 points per game this season.
Atwater led all players with 25 points. The senior added five rebounds and a team-best four assists. Whitney Knight, Haley Laughter and Jaime Gluesing each contributed eight points toward the team’s offensive effort.