FGCU Gives Record Crowd A Good Show With Double Digit Victory Over Mercer

(Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson)

In what athletic director Ken Kavanagh said was "probably the important home game ever", the FGCU men's basketball team, through solid group contributions, cruised to a 75-61 win over league leading Mercer.

This game sold out days in advance. Social media was abuzz. First place was on the line. And the Eagles delivered.

In the first half, Florida Gulf Coast began their dominance on the glass and a small run, led by two Filip Cvjeticanin jumpers, gave them a slight edge that they held onto heading into halftime. The lead would have been bigger had it not been for some sloppy turnovers.

"It was a weird start to the game. Both teams were a little rough offensively," said Joe Dooley. "Contribute that do the defense and nerves."

In arguably his best game when donning the Blue and Green, Jamail Jones brought down 13 boards, including 9 in the first half, and added 11 points. Although he has somewhat struggled from beyond the arc this season, Jones hit a huge three that capped off a 15-0 FGCU run.

"He's been terrific for us the past two weeks. That was his most complete game," said Joe Dooley. "A big factor for us his play and he's playing at a high level."

In something we have rarely seen this season, Dooley's squad put the full court pressure on the Bears. Although Mercer only turned the ball over 9 times compared to FGCU's 13, it definitely paid off for the Eagles.

"We hit them every single time on the boards and then get out and run over and over," said Brett Comer. "Their ball screen defense started to get a little slower on the hedges. I was able to turn and get other guys shots."

In what Mercer's Bob Hoffman called the Bears 'own game', Florida Gulf Coast absolutely dominated the glass 48-29. Adding to Jones' 13 rebounds, Hicks also had 8 boards. It was a main focus for the Blue and Green heading in.

"They lead the league in rebounding margin so we knew in order to stop them you have to limit them to one stop," said Chase Fieler. "And we have to steal a few offensively - Jamail [Jones] did a great job helping us down low."

With the huge home victory, Florida Gulf Coast (18-10, 12-3) is now tied with Mercer (21-7, 12-3) at the top of the Atlantic Sun standings. At the moment, FGCU holds the tiebreaker: record against 3rd place team (USC Upstate).

The Eagles face off against Kennesaw State on Sunday (senior night), and head to Lipscomb (Thursday, Feb. 27), and Northern Kentucky (Saturday, March 1). Mercer has remaining games against Stetson, UNF, and Jacksonville.

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