Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Basketball
The stage
was set for the FGCU Men's basketball team to put the icing on the
cake last Sunday. They had finished first in the regular season,
earning the right to host the Championship Game. They had Coach Joe
Dooley at the helm, and he had just been named “Coach of the Year”
for the ASUN, the conference in which they play.
Brandon
Goodwin had been named the “Player of the Year” for the ASUN. He
was also named to the first team all stars with fellow Eagle Zach
Johnson. They had won their quarter final and semi final games. Their
home court at the Alico Arena was jammed to the rafters. The prime
American sports network, ESPN was all set up to cover the game. What
could possibly go wrong?
The Lipscomb
Bisons won the tip off to start the game. Never a good omen. They had
finished second in the conference, and they had previously defeated
the Eagles at the Alico Arena. They entered the game with a quiet
confidence, and with a shooter named Garrison Matthews. They made
very few errors in the first half. They shot the lights out. They
began the second half with an insurmountable lead of 29 points.
The Eagles
came out cold to start the game. They fouled at inopportune times,
they passed poorly, they took bad shots, they did not guard the rock
well at all. It may have been a case of nerves, a bit of wilting
under pressure. They just played really poorly, and gave the Bisons
ample opportunity to steal the victory.
The Eagles
resorted to a full court press in the second half, with amazing
results. They outscored the Bisons 65-48 in the second half. They
reduced the Bisons' lead to five points, but that was it. The boys
from Nashville withstood the heat, and waltzed away with the victory,
108-96.
Zach Johnson
had 37 points in the loss, including 9 three-pointers. Brandon
Goodwin had 34 points, to no avail. Lipscomb made 65% of their shots
from the floor in the game, an incredible number.
Naturally,
there were many disappointed fans at the end of the game, and a few
tears from the young players. The Eagles now await the results of the
NCAA draw next Monday to find out how they will fit into the National
Invitation Tournament. It is a small consolation for what was
expected from Sunday's game.
Hats off to
the Lipscomb Bisons from Nashville, Tennessee. Their execution was
almost flawless. It was good enough to sink the Eagles' ship last
Sunday.
Sports kudos
to Michelle Wie for winning her first LPGA event since 2014. And a
nod to Brooke Henderson for finishing second. Phil Mickelson won the
PGA event, his first in 100 tries. It was a little disappointing to
see Shubhankar Sharma fade in the last round when he carded a 74. It
was the first PGA event for the youngster from India. There are so
many young golfers out there who could win at any given time. Tough
crowd, as Rodney Dangerfield would say.
It all makes
for great sport!!!
James Hurst
March 6,
2018.
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:33 AM 
