Written by Bill Levy
On paper, it appeared that Tuesday’s men’s basketball game between the NCAA Division I Eagles of FGCU and Ave Maria, a member of the NAIA ranks, would be a mismatch. It appeared that way on the court as well.
Behind six Eagles who had double digits in scoring, FGCU (4-3) easily defeated the Gyrenes 120-60 in front of 3,004 fans at the Alico Arena. Officially, Ave Maria will remain at 2-4 as this contest was classified as an exhibition game for them. Brandon Goodwin led the way with 19 points while Christian Terrell had 15. Also in double digits for the Eagles were Rayjon Tucker (14), Demetris Morant (14), Kevin Mickle (13) and RaySean Scott (11).
The tone was set early as FGCU built and early 16-0 lead. After Ave Maria’s Romello Bates connected on a 3-pointer, the Eagles outscored the Gyrenes 37-17 to take a commanding 53-20 lead into halftime, and also for all practical purposes eliminating any doubt of who the victor would be.
“We got off to a good start,” FGCU coach Joe Dooley said. “We did a good job sharing the ball. It was good to see balance.”
One Eagle who certainly shared the ball was Reggie Reid, who finished with a game high seven assists. In addition, sophomore guard added nine points.
“We went out there and did what coach asked us to and tried to get the “W”,” he said.
Despite his team clearing being superior to Ave Maria, Dooley mentined there are things he was looking for out of the Eagles.
“You want to see if they play the right way,” he said. “You want to see the defensive intensity. You get to see different lineups and different rotations.”
While saying he was pleased with the energy, Dooley also said there are some things FGCU needs to work on.
“We gave up too many downhill drives,” he said. “We need to tighten up our ball screen defense.
“The bad news is there are a bunch of things we need to work on. The good news is the ceiling is pretty high.”
NOTE: Trey Cox, a 2016 graduate of Palmetto Ridge High School in Naples, is a redshirt freshman for Ave Maria