NCAA Tournament 2013 Round Up: Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles Beats San Diego's Aztecs To Make Sweet 16, Becomes First No. 15 Seed In NCAA History To Reach Semifinals
For the Florida Gulf Coast University's Eagles basketball team, Sweet 16 dreams are alive, kicking and happening now. Florida Gulf Coast University, after beating San Diego State’s Aztecs became the first no. 15 seed in NCAA history to reach the regional semifinals with a 81-71 victory.
They defeated Aztecs Sunday night at the South Regional.
Just as Florida Gulf Coast University (26-10) had done in Friday’s stunning upset of second-seeded Georgetown, it was their strong second-half surge that put the Atlantic Sun Conference champion in charge as the Eagles succumbed under the relentless offensive surge by a team that has been in Division I for only six years and eligible for possession for only two.
The Eagles will next face No. 3 Florida on Friday.
With the Aztecs ahead 46-44 early in the second half, the Eagles seized the momentum and swayed the Wells Fargo Center in their groove.
Christopher Varidel scored on a drive to tie it; Bernard Thompson hit a reverse layup after a steal, and point guard Brett Comer had two consecutive gorgeous assists on passes to Thompson and Chase Fielder, which led to a pair of fast-break layups.
The move puts the Eagles ahead 52-64 and forced Aztecs coach Steve Fisher to call timeout. Aztecs responded and moved within 54-52 on a drive by Xavier Thames, but the Eagles weren’t about to let anything ruin their big night. They reacted by scoring 17 consecutive points, eight by Atlantic Sun player of the year Sherwood Brown to take a 71-52 lead with less than six minutes left to end the drama.
San Diego State jumped ahead 12-7 in the first six minutes as DeShawn Stephens had six early points while working inside.
The Eagles quickly responded and put on a 10-2 run fueled by a couple of three-pointers by Varidel. That put FGCU ahead 17-14.
Guards Chase Tapley and James Rahon soon started to heat up the Aztecs. The two scored five points each in a 17-9 SDSU spurt, which put the Aztecs up 31-26. However the Eagles stayed very close, in part to Thompson’s long-range accuracy, and by half time, FGCU was back within 35-34.
The Aztecs forced eight first-half turnovers by the Eagles and had the slim lead in spite of FGCU shooting 54% from the field and making five of the nine three-pointers.
Franklin had nine first-half points for SDSU with Rahon and Stephens scoring eight each. Thompson had 10 points in the half for the Eagles and Brown scored nine.
The team from Fort Myers, FL, on the southern Gulf coast of Florida, has become the tournament’s Cinderella darling.