FGCU roundup: Women's, men's basketball split doubleheader at Jacksonville State

No Kierstan Bell? No problem for the FGCU women's basketball team.

With their star sitting out with a knee issue, the Eagles rolled to a 66-44 victory at Jacksonville State on Saturday in Jacksonville, Alabama.

It was the first time FGCU (17-1, 6-0 ASUN) had played without Bell since an overtime loss to nationally ranked Arkansas in the third game of the 2020-21 season.

"We got off to a great start today. I thought we defended really well, especially in the first half, and that helped us build the lead," FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. "In the second half we were able to maintain that separation. I'm just really proud of the players for today."

The Eagles were led by a game-high 20 points from T.K. Morehouse, and she added five rebounds and four assists. Kerstie Phills nearly had a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, marking the third time in the last five outings she has scored in double digits. Emma List finished with 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

FGCU shot nearly 50% for the game hitting 25-of-51 from the floor, while holding JSU to 25% at 17-of-67. The Eagles were able to push the tempo in the game with a 14-2 advantage in fast break points.

The Gamecocks had just one player in double figures as Kennedy Gavin scored 10 points. The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for JSU, while the 44 points marked the fewest in a game this season and since scoring just 40 against Jacksonville on Dec. 20, 2019.

FGCU extended its NCAA-leading road win streak to 26 games, while also pushing its win streak over conference foes to 28 games, which ranks third nationally.

FGCU plays at home against Eastern Kentucky on Thursday as part of a doubleheader with the men. The men's game starts at 5 p.m., followed by the women at 7:30 p.m.

Men's basketball: A 16-6 second half run for the Gamecocks proved the difference maker as Jacksonville State defeated the Eagles, 79-71, in Jacksonville, Alabama, on Saturday.

The Eagles fall to 12-8 overall and 2-4 in the ASUN, while JSU, which leads the West Division, improves to 12-6 overall and 5-0 in league play.

"I thought we got off to a great start tonight and we really defended well in the first half where JSU had a hard time finding shots. Unfortunately, they got a little bit of a run before halftime," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "We had good numbers overall, but, unfortunately, the 17 turnovers led to 20 points. That was the difference in the game. We just need to work through a few issues, but I've got full confidence in this team as we look ahead."

Kevin Samuel led the Eagles with his eighth double-double of the year. He finished the night with 16 points (8-of-11), 11 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals. The five blocks extend his single-season record to 57, which also now ranks as the 10th most for a career at FGCU.

Tavian Dunn-Martin led the Eagles in scoring with 17 points while handing out a game-high eight assists. Cyrus Largie had 10 points, while Caleb Catto added nine.

JSU was led by Demaree King, who had a game-high 20 points, and Darian Adams, who scored 18 points. The duo sparked the Gamecocks from beyond the arc as they combined to hit six of JSU's nine 3-pointers. Brandon Huffman had 10 rebounds and narrowly missed a double-double with nine points.

The Gamecocks closed the first half on a 14-4 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 75 seconds, to take a 40-35 lead into the intermission.

The Eagles stayed within five for the first four minutes of the second half, but JSU used a 16-6 run over a five-minute stretch to take a 62-47 lead at the midway point.

Men's tennis: The Eagles came up just short at FAU, losing 4-3 in Boca Raton.

"Today was a tough one," FGCU coach CJ Weber said. "We won a really exciting doubles point, but in all honesty, I just don't think we could handle these two tough matches back-to-back. FAU played a great disciplined physical match, and I just don't think we had the juice this early in the season. We will focus on getting in better shape. I like this group, and we just have to make sure this doesn't get us down. We're still at the beginning."

The match started at 10 a.m., but after one game was completed on each doubles court, play was suspended for nearly two hours due to rain. When competition resumed, sophomore Randy Wilson and sophomore Eric Oncins cruised to a 6-2 victory on Court 3.

After FAU took the match on Court 2, sophomore Magnus Johnson of Naples and junior Max Damm forced a tiebreak on Court 1, and won that 7-3.

In singles, the Owls took a 2-1 lead in the match with wins on courts five and six, but Wilson tied it back up with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Nicholas Jadoun on Court 4.

After FAU retook a 3-2 lead with victory on Court 3, Johnson continued his perfect start to the spring as he tied the match once again with a 6-1, 7-5 win on Court 1 over No. 103 Carles Sarrio.

On Court 2, FGCU's Juan Montes dropped the first set to No. 114 Kevin Huempfner, but had the second set tied at five. However, Montes could not force a third set as Huempfner took the next two games to clinch the match for the Owls.

The Eagles will return to the courts on Feb. 4 when they host Keiser at 5 p.m.

Women's swimming: The FGCU swim and dive team lost at FIU, 190-109, in Miami on Saturday.

Junior diver Reese Wakefield qualified for NCAA Zones on both the 1m and 3m. On the 1m, she scored 291.00 while on the 3m, she put up a score of 294.68, both well above the NCAA qualifying threshold. She becomes the fourth Eagle to qualify for zones, joining her sister Megan Wakefield, and juniors Isabeau Keene and Delaney Nelson.

Sophomore Emma Hixenbaugh picked up the lone win for the Eagles on the day as she touched first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.30.

"We came into today with two goals, executing our events better than we did last week and exchanges on relays, and we did a great job on both," FGCU coach Dave Rollins said. "Congratulations to Reese who qualified for NCAA Zones on both the 1m and 3m. Emma coming away with an event win is always special and seeing our team challenge themselves to finish their races is huge for us moving forward. Now we get to focus on celebrating our seniors and all of their accomplishments and contributions to this program as we head into the final push of the season."

The Eagles had a couple of second-place finishes with senior Wiktoria Czarnecka placing second in the 50 free, and senior Petra Halmai did so in the 200 breast and the 200 IM.

FGCU will return to action on Feb. 4-5 at home against North Florida.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FGCU women's, men's basketball split doubleheader at Jacksonville St.