Florida Gulf Coast rallies to beat S. Dakota State 84-78

Nov 17, 2019, 11:57 am

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Haanif Cheatham scored 23 points, Christian Carlyle added 16 with five assists and Florida Gulf Coast rallied late to beat South Dakota State 84-78 on Friday night.

Carlyle's 3-point play tied it at 72 with 2:29 to play and sparked a 9-0 run in which Shadrac Casimir scored the go-ahead layup on a fast break and FGIU took a 78-72 lead with 45 seconds to play. The Jackrabbits closed to 79-78 on David Jenkins' free throw, but Dinerio Mercurius got a steal and two free throws and added a layup with five seconds left to seal it.

Troy Baxter Jr. scored 16 points and Mercurius added 14 for the Eagles (2-2), who trailed 37-30 at halftime in a game that saw 17 lead changes.

Jenkins scored 29 points, Mike Daum added 18 and Skyler Flatten had 13 for the Jackrabbits (3-1), who were outscored 48-32 in the paint.