On Jan. 25, the FGCU men’s basketball team faced off against Lipscomb University in the second game of a three game homestand. After only facing a six point deficit at halftime, the Eagles couldn’t keep up with the Bisons’ explosive offense in the second half and FGCU lost 98-72.

FGCU entered this game with an 8-12 overall record and a 2-3 conference record. The Eagles had most recently defeated Stetson on Jan. 20, 80-56. Lipscomb came into this game with a 12-8 overall record and a 3-2 conference record. The Bisons most recently had defeated North Alabama on Jan. 20 as well, 88-79.

The Eagles led early on in the game, but after leading 13-12 six minutes into the contest, the Eagles never led again. Once the Bisons took the lead, they took clear control of the game.

Despite playing from behind for most of the first half, FGCU was only trailing 40-34 at halftime. 

Coming out to begin the second half, FGCU tied the game up at 43 points apiece. In this scoring run to even things up, the Eagles got points from two juniors, forward Zach Anderson and guard Dallion Johnson, as well as from senior forward Keeshawn Kellman.

In an instant, however, the game got quite out of hand quickly. Lipscomb would put up eight unanswered points in just over a minute that would put the Bisons in the lead for good.

FGCU was unable to counter Lipscomb’s dominant offense in the second half with consistent scoring of their own. The Bisons’ lead grew to as high as 28 points at one point.

Shooting was the biggest difference in this game, especially in the second half. By the end, the Eagles had shot 49.1% throughout and just 36.8% from beyond the arc. In comparison, the Bisons shot an incredible 65.5% from the field and 51.7% from the 3-point line. Lipscomb was also perfect from the free-throw line on 11 attempts and their leading scorer ended with 38 points.

Four Eagles finished in double figures in scoring with senior guard Isaiah Thompson leading the team in points with 19. Kellman put up 14 points and shot 6/7 in this game which put him at 70.9% shooting from the field on the season. He now leads the nation in field goal percentage.

Unfortunately, Lipscomb defeated FGCU 98-72 to drop the Eagles’ record to 8-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play. FGCU has a quick turnaround for their next game on Jan. 27 against Austin Peay. The Eagles will look to rebound from this game and hopefully finish 2-1 in this homestand.