Eagles fly to SD to face 11th top-105 test
Despite another strong effort against a top tier opponent, FGCU came up short Tuesday night in a 66-63 loss to Louisiana Tech at Alico Arena.
The Eagles (6-6) held Tech (10-2) to its season low in both points and 3-pointers made, but scored just five points in the final five minutes to endure their second defeat in four days to teams with a combined record of 20-4.
The road won’t get any easier for the Eagles who play their third opponent from the Dakotas this season when they travel to Sioux Falls to face the University of South Dakota (7-5) on Monday. The Coyotes are ranked 105 in the RPI and represent the sixth opponent for FGCU through 11 Division I games ranked in the top 105.
Sophomore Christian Terrell led FGCU with 16 points, 12 coming in the second half. Redshirt junior Demetris Morant recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Rayjon Tucker reached double figures for the third time this year with 10 points.
With 30 seconds remaining and leading 63-61, Merrill Holden missed two free throws for the Bulldogs. Jacobi Boykins came flying in from beyond the 3-point line and had an uncontested putback off the second miss to push the lead back to four.
On FGCU’s ensuing possession, Terrell drove to the hoop to cut the deficit to 65-63. The Eagles immediately fouled Alex Hamilton, who stepped to the line and missed the first of two free throws. The Eagles had another opportunity to tie the game with 20 seconds to play.
Trying to get a quick two points, Tech’s defense stifled the Eagles forcing Terrell to settle for a long, off-balance 3-pointer with seconds left that came up short.
“The two plays that encapsulated the whole game for me were the last play of the first half and the putback off the free throw at the end,” Eagles coach Joe Dooley said of the full-court pass and dunk off a made field goal just before the first-half buzzer. “We’ve been talking about a lot of the same things and we need to correct them. We can’t give up 15 offensive rebounds and win; energy finds the ball and they had more energy. Also, we missed some timely shots and they made some timely shots, and that usually ends up getting you beat.”
Hamilton finished with 26 points for the Bulldogs, the most points a player has scored against FGCU in regulation this season. Erik McCree was the lone other double-figure scorer for Tech with 12 and a team-best seven rebounds.
“Hamilton controlled the game, especially in the second half, as he was able to get to the paint whenever he wanted and really did a good job of creating pace,” added Dooley.