On Dec. 5, FGCU took on the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. The Eagles started the game hot, and never looked back as they defeated the Mighty Banyans 87-54 on Tuesday night.
Heading into this game, FGCU split their most recent road trip with a win and a loss. A 68-65 win over FIU in Miami broke a five game losing streak while a blowout loss at Cincinnati, 99-62, came the following game.
Four players scored at least 10 points for the Eagles as they were led in scoring by senior forward Keeshawn Kellman. He made his presence felt throughout the game, scoring 18 points shooting 8/9 from the field. Junior guard Dallion Johnson was on fire from behind the arc, connecting on five 3-pointers and ending the game with 17 points. Senior guard Chase Johnston tied his season-high in points with 14 points, while junior forward Zach Anderson put up 10 points.
Senior forward Dakota Rivers had a huge night for the Eagles as he put up 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. At 15:41 in the first half, Rivers had a putback dunk that secured him the ninth spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 Plays.
At halftime, the Eagles were handily in control of the game, leading the Mighty Banyans 46-27.
The lead grew to as much as 35 points in the second half as almost every Eagle got in on the action. FGCU shot 35/68 from the field as they had a season-best field goal percentage at 51.5%. The Eagles also tied a season-high in three-pointers with 13 in the game. Graduate student and guard Franco Miller Jr. passed the rock with efficiency as he had eight of the team’s 20 assists, nearly half, the most assists for the Eagles this season.
FGCU dominated the other facets of the game as well, out-rebounding NCF, 48 to 28, with freshman guard Rahmir Barno earning nine rebounds, leading the team and putting up his most this season. The Eagles scored 44 points in the paint while the bench came up big this game by scoring 29 points.
The Mighty Banyans considered this game to be an exhibition game for the team, similarly to Ave Maria to open the home schedule. It was NCF’s first game against a Division 1 opponent in the program’s history.
FGCU, now 3-7 overall, will be playing a tough road game in Minneapolis against the University of Minnesota later today. The Big Ten Network will be airing the game. The Golden Gophers enter the game 6-3 after beating conference rival Nebraska. The Eagles will look to start a winning streak and build momentum as ASUN Conference play arrives after the new year begins.
