PHILADELPHIA — At a time when they might have cracked, the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast soared.
They had taken the game to heavily favored Georgetown, shockingly so, but the Hoyas had trimmed a once-unthinkable 19-point lead to seven and with two minutes remaining, there was plenty of time for hoops and bracket order to be restored.
Just then, the team known as FGCU showed what it is all about as it put the punctuation on a bracket-rattling 78-68 second-round victory heard ’round the NCAA Tournament.
“I got some crazy dudes on this team,’’ coach Andy Enfield cracked.
Crazy is as crazy does. Just after Georgetown’s Otto Porter Jr. scored to cut the deficit to seven points, point guard Brett Comer rushed the ball up-court for Florida Gulf Coast at a time when caution might have been advised. Suddenly, the ball was out of Comer’s hands, launched toward the basket for a “What the heck is he doing?’’ lob pass.
“Would I recommend that pass?’’ Enfield said. “No, it was a little risky. But we have a lot of risk-reward.’’
Comer’s gamble was somehow plucked out of the air about 12 feet above the court by Chase Fieler, a 6-foot-8 junior who looked as if he had been launched off a trampoline as he rocketed to track the ball and send it thundering through the rim, a resounding finish to a breathtaking alley-oop dunk.
“I think that might have been the highest I’ve ever been,’’ Fieler said. “I have to check the video.’’
Florida Gulf Coast, the pride of the Atlantic Sun Conference, was the more athletic, poised, aggressive and certainly more freewheeling squad. The high-flying Eagles (25-10) at times toyed with the team that shared the Big East regular-season title and then fought off a furious but ultimately futile Georgetown rally in a South Region upset special at Wells Fargo Center.
“I didn’t think they would come back,’’ FGCU guard Bernard Thompson said matter-of-factly. “They couldn’t really match our energy.’’
Many expected this game would not be competitive and for long stretches it wasn’t. In the new world order, a school born in 1991 that few outside of Fort Myers, Fla. have heard of can not only knock off an established basketball power, but also embarrass it.
The Hoyas (25-7) got within four points, 72-68, with 52 seconds remaining, but Florida Gulf Coast kept calm and hit its foul shots, draining 9 of 10 down the stretch to send Georgetown packing.
It was only the seventh time in tourney history a 15-seed knocked off a two-seed — but the third time in the past two years. Early exits are nothing new for Georgetown under John Thompson III. Since making the Final Four in 2007, the Hoyas, as favorites, have lost to a 10th seed (Davidson), two 11th seeds (North Carolina State and VCU) and a 14th seed (Ohio). And now, they have gone down to a 15th seed.
“More than anyone on this earth I’ve tried to analyze it and think about what we should do differently,’’ Thompson said. “And I don’t know.’’
The Eagles’ backcourt of Sherwood Brown (24 points) and Thompson (23) devastated the Hoyas. Markel Starks led Georgetown with 23 points but Porter, its star player, was dismal, scoring 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
“It just wasn’t our day,’’ Starks said. “What you saw out there wasn’t typical Georgetown basketball.’’
This was the first NCAA Tournament game for Florida Gulf Coast, a school that has competed in Division I for only six years. Right from the start, it was clear there was no intimidation factor going against a Big East heavyweight. The Eagles led 24-22 at halftime despite playing Georgetown’s grinding style. In the second half, Florida Gulf Coast got motoring, and the breaks and dunks followed. When Starks hit a 3-pointer the Hoyas were even at 31. In the next five minutes, Georgetown was outscored 21-2, which sounds absurd but was in fact reality.
“I told the team Georgetown’s ranked eighth in the country,’’ said Enfield, a former NBA shooting instructor who is married to supermodel Amanda Marcum. “But after you get on the court for two or three minutes you’re going to see you’re as good as this team.’’