Harold J. Solomon IV
Sports Editor
Caleb Catto continued his scoring hot-streak with a career-high 23 points but a final run by North Alabama in the fourth quarter would hold off the Eagles and give them a 70-65 loss on the road.
“I thought it was a really good college basketball game – back-and-forth the whole time with a great crowd. I thought both teams competed at a high level,” said head coach Michael Fly. “We had a lead with just over three minutes to go and they had some guys make great plays, while we weren’t able to make the plays we need to. Hats off to UNA and coach Pujol who I have a ton of respect for. I think there will be a lot we can learn from the tape where we’ll say ‘Hey, you put yourself in position to win’. Once we finish cleaning some of those up, then I think we’ll be better able to win games like this.”
In a matchup that featured 11 lead changes and 12 ties, North Alabama sported four double-digit scorers which would contribute to 52.5 shot percentage from the field. With Catto leading the charge for FGCU, the next highest scorer was Tracy Hector with 10 points followed by Jalen Warren with nine points.
Though the Eagles carried 27-26 lead into halftime and were up 60-57 with 3:33 left to go in the game following a Catto layup, an 8-2 by North Alabama would give them the lead with just over a minute to go in the game.
Ultimately, FGCU’s last-second would fall short as UNA netted 5-6 free throws in the final 36 seconds to seal the victory.
FGCU men’s basketball will look to rebound when they return to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup against NJIT on Jan. 25.