Freshman Rayjon Tucker helps FGCU match best A-Sun start
Rayjon Tucker said FGCU is on a mission this year: for the veterans, the younger players and the university.
So, no, he can’t really be worrying about nerves at the free throw line with the game in the balance.
“We work on free throws almost every day at practice,” said the true freshman, who had a career-high 19 points in FGCU’s 79-74 win Thursday night at Kennesaw State as the Eagles won their seventh straight game and matched match their best ever start in Atlantic Sun Conference play.
“It’s just a concentration deal. It’s an easy way to get two points. Just have to knock them down.”
On a night FGCU couldn’t buy a free throw – ironic of course given the name of the shot – Tucker’s pair of swishes at the charity stripe with about five minutes remaining helped counteract a woeful team showing.
The 6-5 wing from Charlotte, North Carolina – nationally hyped upon entering FGCU for his ferocious dunks but continuing to show his improved shooting prowess with a pair of 3-pointers in Thursday’s first half – finally missed on the last of his eight free throw tries with FGCU up 79-72 and 12.5 seconds left.
But his poise again down the stretch – along with key late buckets from Zach Johnson, Christian Terrell, Marc-Eddy Norelia and Julian DeBose – helped FGCU (13-7, 4-0 in A-Sun) hold off Kennesaw State after the Owls whittled a 14-point deficit early in the second half under six points several times.
“We just all have to trust each other. We do trust each other,” Tucker said. “I think that’s what helps us win at the end of the game: our trust in each other, moving the ball and getting each other open shots.”
FGCU basketball can match best A-Sun start at Kennesaw
Kennesaw State (5-15, 1-3), which lost its ninth straight to FGCU but nearly ground out wins last season in 54-48 and 54-53 losses, fought back from a 50-36 deficit early in the second half Thursday behind 31 points from junior guard Kendrick Ray, a transfer from Quinnipiac, and 20 from senior guard Yonel Brown.
But Johnson (15 points) hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Norelia (10 points, nine rebounds) slammed a Tucker miss back in and Terrell (16 points) twice beat the shot clock in the final three minutes.
“Any road win’s a good win. They’ve played us well,” said FGCU coach Joe Dooley. “We could have created some separation if we made free throws. At the end we gave up way too many easy shots. But guys made plays, especially the young guys. We had a couple spurts where I thought it could have gotten away.”
FGCU, which matched the 2013-14 team with a 4-0 A-Sun and can set the program record Saturday at Lipscomb, was only 12-of-24 at the free-throw line and twice down the stretch missed free throws after made buckets on 3-point play opportunities.
But Tucker hit a pair at the line after driving to the basket with FGCU needing to make something happen after an 8-0 Owls run cut it to 50-44 with 13 minutes to play.
He hit two more with 5:08 to play after Kennesaw State cut the deficit to 66-60.
Then with the Owls fouling late, he swished a pair with 25.3 seconds left to make it 78-70 and made the first of two with 12.5 seconds left for a 79-72 edge.
“There’s no pressure I don’t think on myself,” said Tucker, who converted the free throw in a game-winning 3-point play with 10.6 seconds remaining in a 77-76 FGCU home win over UMass in December.
“If we do miss I feel confident in our defense that we’ll make stops and win the game.”
After falling short of an NCAA tournament berth the past two seasons, including a loss in the A-Sun semifinals last season with a senior-laden squad led by program pillars Brett Comer and Bernard Thompson, Tucker said the Eagles are playing with a purpose.
“We feel real good, but we’re on a mission this year,” he said.
For Tucker, who also had five rebounds and shot 5-of-7 overall Thursday, that means continuing to evolve from the one-dimensional player he acknowledged he was in high school.
“I’ve been working on my jump shoot, just my skill in general," he said. “I’ve improved a lot. Honestly, I was just raw. In high school, kids are a step slower. It made the game easier for me. At the collegiate level I’ve had to work on some different things."
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Next: at Lipscomb, Saturday, Jan. 23, 5 p.m., Nashville, Tennessee, ESPN3.com
FGCU basketball freshman Rayjon Tucker eyes sudden impact
FGCU 79, KENNESAW ST. 74
FGCU (13-7)
Reid 0-1 0-0 0, DeBose 2-8 2-4 6, Terrell 7-10 2-5 16, Norelia 5-11 0-1 10, Simmons 5-9 0-5 10, Johnson 6-10 1-1 15, Mickle 0-0 0-0 0, Cvjeticanin 1-3 0-0 3, Tucker 5-7 7-8 19. Totals 31-59 12-24 79.
KENNESAW ST. (5-15)
Ray 12-17 4-4 31, Jones 1-4 1-2 3, Brown 7-17 3-4 20, Morena 0-4 0-2 0, Masterson 4-8 0-0 10, Hector 0-0 0-0 0, Clarke 2-4 0-0 4, Williams 2-2 0-0 4, Pruitt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 29-59 8-12 74.
Halftime—FGCU 42-32. 3-Point Goals—FGCU 5-12 (Tucker 2-2, Johnson 2-3, Cvjeticanin 1-3, Terrell 0-2, DeBose 0-2), Kennesaw St. 8-17 (Ray 3-4, Brown 3-7, Masterson 2-5, Pruitt 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—FGCU 39 (Norelia 9), Kennesaw St. 28 (Jones 7). Assists—FGCU 7 (Reid, Terrell 2), Kennesaw St. 15 (Brown 4). Total Fouls—FGCU 15, Kennesaw St. 18. A—1,809.