Thursday, December 01, 2016
Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles Men's Basketball 2016
Last night
the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles scored the first 16 points
in their game against Ave Maria. The finished the game with 120
points, registering their third straight victory. The margin of
victory was sixty points, one of those games that you appreciate
every now and then. A cakewalk.
Two nights
previously, the result was anything but a “slam dunk”. The lead
changed hands several times approaching the final buzzer. Christian
Terrell made the front end of a “one and one” foul shoot, but
missed the second shot to send the game into overtime. The Eagles and
their opponents from Long Beach, California, were tied at 60 after
the buzzer sounded.
Christian Terrell, and the winning score!
In the
overtime, with 15 seconds remaining, the Eagles trailed by one point.
They pushed the ball into the Long Beach court, and Zach Johnson
fired a pass into the left corner to Terrell. Terrell put the ball on
the floor, evaded a 49er defender, and dropped a nifty layup over two
defenders. Game. Set. Match. 68-67 Eagles.
Full credit
goes to the Long Beach squad, in the middle of a horrendous travel
schedule. They had just traveled 5 000 miles in the first leg of
their road stand: Wichita, North Carolina and Louisville, then UCLA
and Washington. They will travel over 23 000 miles in the course of
the “non-conference slate of games”.
Evan Payne
One of their
key players, Evan Payne, from Akron Ohio, is the second leading
scorer on the team. He collapsed in the offensive zone in the first
half, and spent the rest of the game nursing a sore ankle.
The Eagles
evened their season at 3 and 3, and are preparing for a busy schedule
in December with 9 games. They had one significant loss in November
against 13th ranked Michigan State, losing by one point
78-77. They have a full schedule until the end of February when the
contest the ASUN Championship. From there, the ultimate goal would be
to get into the national championships, the round of 64 teams, and
move up from there.
The Eagles
did not play particularly well against Long Beach. Caoch Joe Dooley
put it this way: It seemed like we were on our heels all night. We
weren't sharp, and part of that was due to their aggressiveness. We
had bad shot selection, and coupled with 18 turnovers, that's a
recipe for disaster, and it almost cost us.”
The Eagles
shot a dismal 43.6% in the game, with 6 out of 20 shots hit from
beyond the arc. They shot 70% from the foul line.
The 49ers
shot well in the overtime, converting 3 of 5 attempts. But it wasn't
enough, and they ended up shooting 38.5% for the entire game. They
turned the ball over fewer times, but failed to convert in key
situations.
Alico Arena
was not jumping as loudly as it usually is with most of the students
away on their Thanksgiving Break. The cheerleaders were there to fire
up the crowd, tossing tee shirts, and firing a few to the cheap seats
in the grandstands. Once this season unfolds a little more, all games
will be sold out, and it will rock from start to finish. Put the head
sets on the babies, Ethel, she's gonna be a loud one!
The Eagles
play their first January game on the 19th against USC
Upstate. See you there!
James Hurst
December 1,
2016.
# posted by James Hurst @ 12:11 PM 
