On Jan. 6, the FGCU men’s basketball team faced off against the North Florida Ospreys for the final game of a four game homestand. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ win streak came to an end in convincing fashion, resulting in a 78-58 loss.
The Ospreys entered with a 7-9 record, losing their last four games on the road. The opposite could be said for the Eagles, as they had been hot, winning their last four games, the last three being at home. The Eagles started ASUN play by defeating the 9-6 Jacksonville Dolphins. They look to carry this momentum to improve upon their 7-9 record.
North Florida started the game hot, quickly going up 5-0. Junior forward Zach Anderson scored the first points for the Eagles to bring the game to a three point difference. This was the closest the Eagles got to the Ospreys for the rest of the game, as Anderson’s shot began a disastrous first half.
FGCU shot 34% from the field and 0% from the three-point line. This is in comparison to North Florida, which was 54.8% and 45.5% in each respective statistic. The difference in statistics was massive and it showed. The Eagles also were not able to take advantage of any second-chance opportunities, which was an issue earlier this season that resurfaced in this game.
The first half ended with FGCU down, 47-24. None of the Eagles were able to get to double-digits in scoring with all of their confidence seemingly gone in the half. This was especially apparent from senior forward Keeshawn Kellman, as he was not able to get anything to work for him in the paint. He was 2/5 from the field at the half, but ended the game having shot just 4/11.
Junior guard Dallion Johnson started the second half hot, scoring three 3-pointers to close the gap to 17 points. This effort was all for not as the Ospreys scored the next eight points in tow to a 78-58 victory over the Eagles.
The Eagles struggled with scoring tonight as they ended the game having shot 37.1% from the field and 22.2% from the three-point line. This loss ended their four game winning streak, dropping their record to 7-10 on the season.
FGCU heads on the road to continue ASUN conference play against the 6-10 Queens (N.C.) Royals and the 10-5 Kennesaw State Owls. The Eagles return home on Jan. 20 to play the 10-6 Stetson Hatters.
