Fort Myers, Fla. - The Bowling Green Falcons got a double-double from both Spencer Parker and Zack Denny on their way to a season-high 82 points to ground the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles on Monday night, 82-77, on the final day of the 2015 Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic hosted by the Eagles at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.
BGSU scored a season-high 82 points on a season-best 49.2 field goal percent (29-of-59) highlighted by Parker's 22 points and 10 rebounds, his second career double-double, and Denny's 18 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double over the last two games.
The Falcons also controlled the paint, as BGSU out-rebounded the high-flying Eagles 40-28 and outscored FGCU 44-39 in points in the paint and 9-2 in second chance points.
Behind Parker and Denny's double-doubles was junior guard Ismail Ali with 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench, while Antwon Lillard chipped in with 10 points and two steals. Junior Wes Alcegaire finished with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and pulled down four boards.
FGCU had two players with over 20 points on the night -- Zach Johnson with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting and Christian Terrell, who poured in 21 points and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Johnson had a game-high four assists, while Marc-Eddy Norelia hauled in a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
With both teams playing their third game in three days, the contest opened up with a sloppy start until a fast break one-handed slam by Parker got the scoring going with 18:07 on the first half clock.
The Eagles quickly took their first lead on the ensuing offensive possession with a three-pointer from Filip Cvjeticanin, before a driving left-handed layup by David Joseph and a three-pointer from the wing from Alcegaire gave the visitors in orange a four-point lead at 7-3 at the 17:12 mark of the opening half.
FGCU tied the game up at 7-7 on a layup by Johnson and then again at 9-9 on another layup this time from Rayjon Tucker, yet BGSU refused to let the home team retake the lead and eventually pushed it out to six at 15-9 on a 6-0 run capped off by layups on the block from Lillard and Parker with under 12 minutes to go before the halftime break.
After the Eagles cut the lead to three at 17-14 on a trey from Julian Debose, BGSU answered with a thunderous dunk from Rasheed Worrell and then an up-and-under move from Joseph minutes later at the 8:23 mark to push the Falcons' lead to seven at 21-14.
With the home crowd on their side, the Eagles flew back into the contest with a 7-2 surge over the next two and half minutes to cut the BGSU lead back to within one bucket at 23-21. However, head coach Michael Huger's squad continued to have an answer, as the Falcons responded with a 12-4 run to close out the half with baskets from Lillard, Worrell, Denny and free throws from Ali to take a 35-25 lead into the halftime break.
Parker opened up the second half with back-to-back jumpers to give the Falcons their largest lead to that point -- 14 points at 39-25, as BGSU looked to put the game away early out of the halftime break.
A Denny three-pointer just under five minutes into the second half pushed the BGSU lead to 16 at 44-28, which would be the largest lead of the game for both teams on the night.
Following a Denny rebound and put-back basket to move BGSU back in front by 16 at 46-30 with 14:23 to go in the contest, the Eagles decided to attack the basket on the offensive end and get to the free throw line and FGCU went on a 12-4 run. Six of those points came from the foul line over the next three minutes of play to get to within eight of the Falcons at 50-42.
BGSU and FGCU then traded baskets. However, the Falcons' two buckets were both two-point field goals, while the Eagles' baskets were both from long range to put the home team down just six at 54-48 with just over 10 minutes to go in the contest.
An old-fashion three-point play from Terrell at the 7:55 minute mark of the second half put the Eagles down just five at 60-55, before the Falcons duo of Denny and Parker scored seven of the next eight points for the Orange and Brown to take a 10-point lead at 66-56 and again at 68-58 with just over five minutes to play.
However, the Falcons could not shake the Eagles who chipped away at the BGSU lead over the next four minutes to see three straight points from Terrell trim the Falcons' lead to five at 77-72 with 1:18 left in regulation.
After Lillard hit one of two free throws for the Falcons, Terrell hit a driving layup for the Eagles to put FGCU down just four at 78-74 with 48 seconds to play.
Out of a FGCU timeout, the Falcons' Denny hit one of two free throws to put the lead at 79-74. BGSU then clamped down on the defensive end to force the Eagles into a tough jump shot and hauled down the rebound with 29 seconds left on the game clock.
Ali hit both foul shots, which proved to be vital, as FGCU came down and drained a three-pointer from the right wing to put the BGSU lead back to four at 81-77 with 24 seconds remaining in the contest.
A BGSU turnover gave the ball back to the Eagles, however, the Falcons again came up big on the defensive end as FGCU shot an air ball on a contested three-pointer to give the ball back to the Falcons.
Lillard stepped up and calmly hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds on the game clock, while FGCU's last second three point attempt hit off the rim and into the outstretched arms of Parker to give the visitors the 82-77 road win.
Both teams were on fire from the floor in the second half, as BGSU shot 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) overall, including going 3-of-5 (60 percent) on triples, over the final 20 minutes of play, while FGCU was even better going 17-of-27 (63 percent) overall and 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from long range.
BGSU finished 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from the free throw line, edging the Eagles who were 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the charity stripe, all of which came in the second half of play.
Both teams had nine assists on the night, while BGSU had five steals and four blocks in the victory.
BGSU (3-2) will return home to host Urbana on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
(Courtesy of BGSU Athletics)
The Falcons also controlled the paint, as BGSU out-rebounded the high-flying Eagles 40-28 and outscored FGCU 44-39 in points in the paint and 9-2 in second chance points.
Behind Parker and Denny's double-doubles was junior guard Ismail Ali with 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench, while Antwon Lillard chipped in with 10 points and two steals. Junior Wes Alcegaire finished with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and pulled down four boards.
FGCU had two players with over 20 points on the night -- Zach Johnson with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting and Christian Terrell, who poured in 21 points and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Johnson had a game-high four assists, while Marc-Eddy Norelia hauled in a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
With both teams playing their third game in three days, the contest opened up with a sloppy start until a fast break one-handed slam by Parker got the scoring going with 18:07 on the first half clock.
The Eagles quickly took their first lead on the ensuing offensive possession with a three-pointer from Filip Cvjeticanin, before a driving left-handed layup by David Joseph and a three-pointer from the wing from Alcegaire gave the visitors in orange a four-point lead at 7-3 at the 17:12 mark of the opening half.
FGCU tied the game up at 7-7 on a layup by Johnson and then again at 9-9 on another layup this time from Rayjon Tucker, yet BGSU refused to let the home team retake the lead and eventually pushed it out to six at 15-9 on a 6-0 run capped off by layups on the block from Lillard and Parker with under 12 minutes to go before the halftime break.
After the Eagles cut the lead to three at 17-14 on a trey from Julian Debose, BGSU answered with a thunderous dunk from Rasheed Worrell and then an up-and-under move from Joseph minutes later at the 8:23 mark to push the Falcons' lead to seven at 21-14.
With the home crowd on their side, the Eagles flew back into the contest with a 7-2 surge over the next two and half minutes to cut the BGSU lead back to within one bucket at 23-21. However, head coach Michael Huger's squad continued to have an answer, as the Falcons responded with a 12-4 run to close out the half with baskets from Lillard, Worrell, Denny and free throws from Ali to take a 35-25 lead into the halftime break.
Parker opened up the second half with back-to-back jumpers to give the Falcons their largest lead to that point -- 14 points at 39-25, as BGSU looked to put the game away early out of the halftime break.
A Denny three-pointer just under five minutes into the second half pushed the BGSU lead to 16 at 44-28, which would be the largest lead of the game for both teams on the night.
Following a Denny rebound and put-back basket to move BGSU back in front by 16 at 46-30 with 14:23 to go in the contest, the Eagles decided to attack the basket on the offensive end and get to the free throw line and FGCU went on a 12-4 run. Six of those points came from the foul line over the next three minutes of play to get to within eight of the Falcons at 50-42.
BGSU and FGCU then traded baskets. However, the Falcons' two buckets were both two-point field goals, while the Eagles' baskets were both from long range to put the home team down just six at 54-48 with just over 10 minutes to go in the contest.
An old-fashion three-point play from Terrell at the 7:55 minute mark of the second half put the Eagles down just five at 60-55, before the Falcons duo of Denny and Parker scored seven of the next eight points for the Orange and Brown to take a 10-point lead at 66-56 and again at 68-58 with just over five minutes to play.
However, the Falcons could not shake the Eagles who chipped away at the BGSU lead over the next four minutes to see three straight points from Terrell trim the Falcons' lead to five at 77-72 with 1:18 left in regulation.
After Lillard hit one of two free throws for the Falcons, Terrell hit a driving layup for the Eagles to put FGCU down just four at 78-74 with 48 seconds to play.
Out of a FGCU timeout, the Falcons' Denny hit one of two free throws to put the lead at 79-74. BGSU then clamped down on the defensive end to force the Eagles into a tough jump shot and hauled down the rebound with 29 seconds left on the game clock.
Ali hit both foul shots, which proved to be vital, as FGCU came down and drained a three-pointer from the right wing to put the BGSU lead back to four at 81-77 with 24 seconds remaining in the contest.
A BGSU turnover gave the ball back to the Eagles, however, the Falcons again came up big on the defensive end as FGCU shot an air ball on a contested three-pointer to give the ball back to the Falcons.
Lillard stepped up and calmly hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds on the game clock, while FGCU's last second three point attempt hit off the rim and into the outstretched arms of Parker to give the visitors the 82-77 road win.
Both teams were on fire from the floor in the second half, as BGSU shot 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) overall, including going 3-of-5 (60 percent) on triples, over the final 20 minutes of play, while FGCU was even better going 17-of-27 (63 percent) overall and 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from long range.
BGSU finished 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from the free throw line, edging the Eagles who were 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the charity stripe, all of which came in the second half of play.
Both teams had nine assists on the night, while BGSU had five steals and four blocks in the victory.
BGSU (3-2) will return home to host Urbana on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
(Courtesy of BGSU Athletics)
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