Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at Miami Hurricanes

Miami scrambles late, survives to beat FGCU 69-62

There might be a reason for that.

For the second time in three years, Miami needed to survive a harrowing finish to get a home win over FGCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Beatrice Mompremier scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and fourth-seeded Miami used an 11-0 fourth-quarter run to beat 13th-seeded FGCU 69-62 in a first-round Portland Region game Friday night.

"We knew they were a great team and I think that we prepared our team for a close game the whole time," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "I never thought this would be a runaway game."

It almost was, a few times.

"We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole," FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. "Proud of the way we fought back and rallied and gave ourselves a chance to win the game at the end. But it didn't work out for us."

Endia Banks scored 14 and Mykea Gray added 10 for the Hurricanes (25-8), who wasted a 14-point second-half lead and were down by one early in the fourth before recovering.

Emese Hof had a 10-point, 12-rebound game for Miami, which plays fifth-seeded Arizona State on Sunday. The Hurricanes turned a 51-50 deficit into a 64-53 lead in the fourth.

Keri Jewett-Giles scored 24 for FGCU, whose 19-game winning streak was snapped. The Eagles cut that 11-point late Miami lead to four, but Hof's rebound and reverse-layup putback with exactly a minute left put the Hurricanes up 66-60.

Destiny Washington added 10 for the Eagles.

"Basketball is a game of runs and teams are going to go on runs," Washington said. "Once we saw they were going on one, we thought it was our turn."

Every time it looked like a blowout was coming, FGCU bounced back.

The Eagles were down 7-0 to start the game, 36-24 late in the half and 40-26 after Mompremier opened the third quarter with a score. And they were never rattled.

Jewett-Giles made a 3-pointer early in the fourth for FGCU's first and only lead. The Eagles missed 11 of their final 14 shots.

"We just had to run them off the line," Mompremier said.

TIP-INS

Florida Gulf Coast: The Eagles' first eight shots were 3-point tries. They didn't attempt a 2-pointer until 4:11 remained in the first quarter, and 40 of their 66 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc. ... This was the ninth consecutive year where FGCU won at least 27 games, and the fifth NCAA trip in the last six years for the Eagles. ... FGCU had only eight turnovers and forced 18.

UP FRONT

LONG DAY

UP NEXT

Miami plays Arizona State on Sunday in the second round.

How can I watch Eagles vs. Hurricanes?

• TV Channel: Eagles vs Hurricanes 2021 College Basketball, week , is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Location: Coral Gables, FL
Attendance: 3,003 | Capacity: