Box Score (.pdf)

Fort Myers, Fla. – Christian Terrell and Zach Johnson both scored a game-high 18 points for Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday as the Eagles defeated the USC Upstate men's basketball team 85-56 in A-Sun play from Alico Arena.

Upstate falls to 7-13 overall and 1-2 in the conference, while Florida Gulf Coast improves to 12-7 on the season and 3-0 in league play.

Marvin Smith and Deion Holmes each had a team-high 12 points for the Spartans, while Malik Moore added nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Moore also dished out four assists.

Terrell and Johnson were two of four Eagles to finish in double-figures as Antravious Simmons and Julian Debose both contributed 10 points. Simmons and Marc-Eddy Norelia pulled down a game-high seven rebounds apiece, and Johnson collected six assists.

Upstate opened the game on an 8-4 run as Holmes scored four of those points over the first four minutes. The Spartans took a four-point lead with 16:06 left following a tip-in basket by Moore. Florida Gulf Coast followed with a 15-0 run over the next 4:29 as it led 19-8 at the 11:29 mark capped by a three from Johnson. Holmes halted the run two possessions later with a three-pointer, putting the score at 19-11.

Upstate would get as close as 13 after that when a layup by Smith cut its deficit to 26-13 with 6:31 remaining. After Smith made it a 35-17 contest with 3:23 left, the Eagles finished the half on an 8-0 run to go into halftime ahead 43-17.

Dubose began the second half for Florida Gulf Coast with a three to push its lead to 46-17, but Michael Buchanan and Mike Cunningham answered with back-to-back layups to trim the FGCU lead to 46-21 with 18:19 left. The Spartans would get as close as 54-31 at the 11:10 mark when Jure Span connected on a three.

Florida Gulf Coast took its largest lead of the game at 36 twice, with the last coming when Brian Greene Jr. hit a three with 4:37 to go giving it a 78-42 advantage. Holmes, Span and Tristan Thomas each made three-pointers over the game's final four minutes as Upstate outscored the Eagles 11-7 during that stretch. The three by Thomas with 56 seconds remaining put the final score at 85-56.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 22-of-47 (46.8%) while FGCU was 30-of-56 (53.6%). Upstate was even with the Eagles in second chance points (5-5) and fast break points (4-4).

The Spartans return to the Hodge Center Thursday, Jan. 21 as they host North Florida at 7 p.m. in a rematch of last season's A-Sun Tournament Championship Game.

Follow Upstate men's basketball on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.