On Thursday, Jan. 21, the FGCU men’s basketball team took its six-game win streak and its 3-0 Atlantic Sun Conference record on the road to Kennesaw, Georgia where it faced off against Kennesaw State. Behind five Eagles in double-figures, FGCU was able to earn its seventh consecutive victory with a 79-74 win against the Owls.
It was a career-night for FGCU’s highest ranked recruit Rayjon Tucker as he led the way for the Eagles as one of the five players who finished with double-figures, with a career-high 19 points. To go along with his career best 19 points, Tucker went a perfect 2-2 from long range, snatched five rebounds and tallied one assist.
Christian Terrell, who has found a rhythm offensively over the past three games, ended the night with 16 points, five rebounds and one assist. This game marks his third consecutive game, scoring double figures after having 12 points against NJIT and 18 against USC Upstate.
The Atlantic Sun Conference Co-Newcomer of the Week Zach Johnson continued his offensive dominance, tallying 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. During the Eagles’ seven-game win streak, Johnson has finished every game in double figures and is averaging 12.7 points and 4.8 assist per game.
Mr. Double-Double, Marc-Eddy Norelia, who has seven double-doubles on the season, fell one rebound short of his eighth. Norelia finished the night with 10 points, nine rebounds and one assist.
In a great shooting half for the Eagles, they shot 56.7 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the arc. FGCU also played well on the other side of the ball, outrebounding Kennesaw State 19-15 and holding them to 43.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from long range. Behind some good defense and 12 first half points courtesy of Rayjon Tucker, the Eagles led the Owls at the half 42-32.
After a strong first half offensively, the Eagles couldn’t get things going against a rejuvenated Owls team. Kennesaw’s Kendrick Ray led the way for the Owls, exploding offensively and scoring 19 points on 7-8 shooting. After struggling to make shots, the Owls improved its shooting to 55.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from long-range. They also turned it up on the defensive side of the ball, limiting FGCU to just 20 percent from long range and 48.3 percent from the field. Besides a dominating second-half performance by Kennesaw State where the Eagles were outscored 42-37, FGCU was able to ride Christian Terrell’s eight second half points to a narrow five point 79-74 victory over the Owls.
Now 4-0 in A-Sun conference play, the Eagles will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to face Lipscomb in search of their eighth consecutive victory.