By Chase Henry
Staff Writer
The FGCU men’s basketball team (0-1) started its season with a loss to the Saint Louis University Billikens (1-0) by a score of 89-67 Tuesday night.
After five minutes of action, the lead bounced between both sides with Jalen Warren, Caleb Catto and Zach Scott scoring for FGCU with the score at 6-4.
Saint Louis then proceeded to go on a 19-0 run over the next 10 minutes to push the gap to 23-6. Fueled by stifling defense from Hasahn French, FGCU went 0-7 from the field in that stretch. On the other side of the floor, Saint Louis found easy buckets from the playmaking provided by Jordan Goodwin and Yuri Collins
Caleb Catto ended the Billikens’ run with just over eight minutes in the first half with a three-point shot. FGCU went into the half with confidence following a run of points including two 3-pointers from Sam Gagliardi, a powerful slam from Justus Rainwater.
At the half, the Eagles trailed Saint Louis, 40-18.
The Eagles kept pace with the Billikens in the second half with Scott and Catto controlling the tempo of the offense. Overall, both teams ended up tied in scoring at 49-49.
Scott led the way in scoring for the Eagles after erupting in the second half with 19 points to end with 23 points total, while Catto chipped in an additional 11 points in the second half to end the game with 16 points total. Jalen Harper contributed nine points in his first collegiate game with three 3-pointers in the second half.
While the Eagles had strong contributions in the second half, they couldn’t get out of their way as they gave up 18 turnovers which lead to 17 points for the Billikens.
Following the loss, the FGCU men’s basketball team looks to redeem itself, returning to Alico Arena for its home opener against UMBC on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m.