Bears Fall to Florida Gulf Coast in A-Sun Title Game - Mar 9, 2013
MACON, Ga. - The FGCU Eagles took control of the second half to defeat top-seeded Mercer 88-75 to claim their first Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Championship title and the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
Brett Comer (6'3''-PG-92) led the Eagles by collecting his fourth career 20+ point performance, ending the game with 21 points and A-Sun Championship Most Valuable Player honors. The sophomore guard added five assists to push his total to 213 on the season; tied for seventh in the A-Sun record books for a single season.
FGCU's Sherwood Brown (6'4''-G-91) collected a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to grab a spot on the all-tournament team. Joining Brown and Comer on the squad was Chase Fieler (6'8''-F-92) who added 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The contest was largely back-and-forth in the first half as the game saw 13 lead changes all in the first half. The Eagles came out on fire in the second half and quickly extended their lead to 11 only three minutes into the second stanza. FGCU led by as many as 17 points with six minutes remaining.
This was the Eagles second trip to the A-Sun Championship in just their second year of post-season eligibility. Last year, FGCU fell just shy of the championship title, however the Eagles rebounded to become the first team to go from runner-up to A-Sun Champion since 2004.
With its championship run, FGCU has collected 24 wins this season to mark a Division I program record for the Eagles. The 24 wins are tied for 18th most in the nation. The Eagles, who defeated No. 6 Miami (Fla.) earlier in the season, currently sits 109th in the last NCAA RPI (Mar. 4th)
Four Bears recorded double digits in scoring with Travis Smith registering a team-high 16 points, while Jakob Gollon (6'6''-F-89) and Bud Thomas (6'6''-F-92) both contributed 14 points. Langston Hall (6'4''-PG-91) and Thomas received all-tournament honors as Hall produced 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the finale. Thomas tallied six rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
With the loss Mercer falls to 23-11 on the season, but will advance to post-season play for the second-straight season as Mercer is guaranteed a spot in the NIT after winning the A-Sun Regular Season title.
All-Tournament MVP:Brett Comer (6'3''-PG-92) of Florida Gulf Coast Player of the Year:Sherwood Brown (6'4''-G-91) of Florida Gulf Coast Defensive Player of the Year:Bernard Thompson (6'3''-G-93) of Florida Gulf Coast Freshman of the Year:Stephen Hurt (6'10''-C) of Lipscomb Coach of the Year:Bob Hoffman of Mercer
Copyright (c) 1998-2013 Eurobasket Inc. Disclaimer
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site !
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the site, nor will you attempt to do so.