Middle Tennessee holds on against FGCU men
Hosting one of the strongest mid-major teams in the nation, the FGCU men’s basketball team (6-3) nearly crawled its way out of a 16-point 2nd-half deficit, but despite getting within one point in the closing seconds, the Eagles had their four-game winning streak snapped Saturday night by Middle Tennessee (5-1), 81-76.
FGCU trailed 60-44 with less than 12 minutes remaining, but fought nearly all the way back. With 2.4 seconds left, Brandon Goodwin was fouled shooting a 3-pointer as the Eagles trailed, 77-74. The unanimous ASUN Preseason Player of the Year hit the first two, but the third was just long as Middle Tennessee – which entered the game with an unofficial RPI of 8 – snapped FGCU’s 10-game home winning streak.
Goodwin led the Eagles with a season-high 26 points to go along with six rebounds. On an evening in which FGCU had a shortened bench, sophomore Christian Carlyle made his second career start and responded with a season-best 18 point.
FGCU will close out its season-high six-game homestand on Tuesday when the Eagles welcome cross-state foe FAU to Alico Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.