FGCU-Austin Peay boxscore | updated FGCU stats
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CONWAY, Ark. – The FGCU men’s basketball team fell short on the road Thursday night, as the Eagles (12-4 overall, 2-1 ASUN) were not able to complete a frantic late comeback attempt in a 61-59 loss to Austin Peay (7-9, 1-2) at the Winfield Dunn Center.
FGCU trailed by 11 points with 2:33 remaining, but had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line with 2.2 seconds to play. The loss snapped a five-game Eagles winning streak, and was only their second loss in 12 games. Austin Peay won its first ASUN Conference game after moving from the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Governors broke their four-game slide.
Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) led FGCU with 14 points and 12 rebounds – his fifth double-double of the season. Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) delivered 11 points and sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) added 10 points.
“We have to keep getting better,” said FGCU head men’s basketball coach Pat Chambers. “We have lots to learn from competing on the road.”
Although the Eagles outrebounded the Governors 36-27, the Green & Blue turned the ball over a season-high 19 times. Austin Peay converted those miscues into 23 points.
Redshirt sophomore guard Dean Durugordon, senior guard Carlos Paez and junior guard Rodrique Massenat each scored 10 points to pace Austin Peay. Redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Ware grabbed nine rebounds.
FGCU worked to clamp down defensively on Austin Peay practically from the opening tip, holding the Governors scoreless in a 6:10 stretch midway through the first half and without a field goal for 9:32. During that time, FGCU embarked on a 9-0 scoring stretch capped by a 3-pointer from senior guard Franco Miller Jr. (Freeport, Bahamas/Crestwood Prep/Ole Miss) that made it 17-11.
The Eagles went cold themselves minutes later, scoring just two points in the final 4:09 and allowing a half-ending 10-0 Austin Peay run en route to a 28-23 halftime deficit. FGCU made just 8-of-24 shots from the field for 33.3 percent – their most challenging first half since a 6-for-24 first half (25.0 percent) against Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2022.
Graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) opened the second half in style by canning a 3 that seemed to spark FGCU – as the Eagles snapped off a 9-0 run to take a 35-31 lead with 14:00 to play. But the Green & Blue continued to struggle on the offensive end, as Austin Peay responded with an 11-2 run that made it 42-37.
The Governors continued to pester the Eagles, even as an Anderson layup cut it to 45-42 – forcing four straight FGCU turnovers and scoring seven straight to make it 52-42 with 4:33 remaining.
Thompson responded after the media timeout with a 3 to make it 52-45. But reshirt sophomore guard Shon Robinson threw down a dunk and Paez hit a short jumper to push Austin Peay’s lead back to 11 with 2:33 remaining. FGCU wasn’t done, as senior guard Dahmir Bishop (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter/Xavier/St. Joseph’s) hit two free throws, sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) threw down a dunk and Johnston grabbed a steal in the backcourt and canned a corner 3 to make it 56-52 with 57 seconds to play.
Austin Peay cracked the door even more open by missing the front end of a 1-and-1 at the 47-second mark, and Johnston made them pay with another triple that made it 56-55 with 32 seconds remaining. The Governors made both free throws on their end, and Weir countered with a dunk that made it 58-57 with nine seconds to go.
The Governors again missed a front-end free throw, but FGCU turned it over at midcourt with 5.2 seconds remaining. Freshman guard Guy Fauntleroy made his two free throws for a 60-57 lead, but the Governors fouled Anderson as he was heaving a desperation 3. The defending ASUN Player of the Week made his first free throw with 2.2 seconds to go, but his second rattled off the rim – forcing FGCU to try and foul to get the ball back after Anderson made his third free throw.
FGCU fouled Durugordon on the ensuing inbounds play, and the Governors guard made his second free throw for the final two-point lead. The Eagles were unable to get a desperation shot off before the final horn to seal the loss.
The Eagles return home to take on North Florida at 7 p.m. Saturday at Alico Arena. Austin Peay plays host to Central Arkansas on Saturday.
For complete coverage of FGCU men’s basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU men’s basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal – a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH CHAMBERS
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men’s basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 202 career victories in that span including four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program’s best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics’ charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men’s golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors’ Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
—FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
