CANISIUS/FGCU RECAP

Fort Myers, FL- FGCU (10-3) survives a scare from Canisius College (2-9), 84-81, Wednesday night from Alico Arena.

Stats (CC):

Canisius shot 43.8% (28/64) from the field, 43.3% (13/30) from beyond the arc, and were outrebounded by FGCU, 34-32. The Golden Griffins dished out 15 assists, had 3 steals, and 2 blocks in the game. Canisius forced 12 FGCU team turnovers, while having 9 team turnovers of their own.

Stats (FGCU):

FGCU shot 51.7% (30/58) from the field, 42.9% (9/21) from beyond the arc, and outrebounded Canisius, 34-32. The Eagles dished out 14 assists, had 3 steals, and 9 blocks in the game. FGCU forced 9 Canisius team turnovers, while having 12 team turnovers of their own.

Outstanding Players (CC):

Jordan Henderson 19 pts, 4 asts

Xzavier Long 15 pts, 9 reb

Tre Dinkins 11 pts, 5 asts

Outstanding Players (FGCU):

Zach Anderson 22 pts, 3 reb

Isaiah Thompson 21 pts, 6 reb, 5 asts

Chase Johnston 14 pts, 6 reb, 4 asts

Overview:

FGCU showed their heart, and perseverance Wednesday night from Alico Arena, and while at times Canisius would not miss from beyond the arc, the Eagles did enough to stay in the game. Hot shooting and fast-paced basketball was the theme of Wednesday night’s game, and you would never have known Canisius College had only one NCAA D-1 win headed into the game. The Golden Griffins had lost six straight games overall headed into this game, and had just gotten blown out by Penn State 97-67, on December 18th. As John Vitas III said during the broadcast on ESPN+, this Golden Griffins team on their current losing streak, would play a close game, and then get blown out, and that trend continued leading into the game. This was the close game, and we believe if Canisius can shoot the way they did Wednesday night vs FGCU, they will definitely be in many games during MAAC play.

FGCU was led offensively by Zach Anderson, who scored a game high 22 points, with no shot bigger than the game winning 3 pointer from the corner, to earn FGCU the win. Isaiah Thompson also had a huge game, scoring 21 points. Canisius was led offensively by Jordan Henderson, who scored 19 points. Canisius shot 43.3% from beyond the arc, hitting 13 three point field goals in the game, and shooting the ball like they did tonight, they gave the Eagles all they could handle in the game. Past FGCU teams would have lost this game, so it was great to see this team reach 10 non-conference wins headed into ASUN play.

What’s Next:

FGCU (10-3) begins ASUN Conference play on New Year’s Eve (12/31), at 1 PM, vs Jacksonville University (7-3), from Alico Arena.