Eagles teams notch home wins
Marc-Eddy Norelia scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, Zach Johnson tallied 13 of his 17 points in the second half and FGCU (8-7) overcome a slow start to claim a 68-57 win over Eckerd (12-1) Saturday Alico Arena.
The Eagles trailed by as much as 24-16, but turned things around and went into the halftime locker room with a 34-33 lead. The Eagles started the second half on an extended 22-5 run in the first 10 minutes and went on to lead by as much as 19 before Eckerd closed the contest on an 8-0 run in the final 1:17 against FGCU walk-ons and seldom-used reserves.
Norelia also collected a game-high-tying six rebounds en route to leading the Eagles in scoring for the sixth time this year.
“Eckerd did a good job in the first half of getting some bursts, which was disappointing because we had talked about preparing every game as if it’s the same and we didn’t start the game that way,” said Eagles coach Joe Dooley. “The spurt in the second half was good. Zach really did some good things and Marc-Eddy got us off to a good start. With the exception of a couple moments, we played much better in the second half.”
The victory is the 50th home win (50-10) for FGCU since the start of the 2012-13 season. The Eagles are 7-3 at home this year, were 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
FGCU has one final non-conference tuneup before Atlantic Sun Conference action gets under way next Saturday at Alico versus Stetson.
The Eagles welcome NAIA member Webber International (7-8) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
FGCU Women: With another impressive defensive performance, the Eagles defeated the Hartford 64-44 Saturday night at Alico Arena. It’s the fifth consecutive win as the Eagles finish nonconference play with a 12-4 record.
The Eagles extended pulled away late with six made 3-pointers on just eight attempts. With the strong final period, the Eagles moved the lead to 20 points and ultimately earned the victory.
Taylor Gradinjan led all players with a season-high 21 points. The sophomore went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-best six long-range makes. Kaneisha Atwater added 11 points while Whitney Knight produced another well-rounded effort with eight points, nine rebounds, six steals and two blocks.
The Eagles conclude the nonconference slate with a record of 12-4 for their second-consecutive season with 10 nonconference wins. FGCU begins its quest for another Atlantic Sun Conference championship next Saturday by hosting rival Stetson.