FORT MYERS, Fla. - Host Florida Gulf Coast (2-3) stretched a 15-point halftime lead with an early 9-0 second-half run and the Eagles defeated Binghamton men's basketball (3-3) 69-53 Wednesday night at Alico Arena. Over the final 34 minutes, BU was outscored by just three points but the early damage was costly. 

Florida Gulf Coast, reigning Atlantic Sun champions and NCAA second-round participant, improved to 61-11 at home over the last five years. The Eagles came into the game ranked No. 21 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. 

Binghamton missed 11 of its first 12 shots to open the game and dug itself a 15-2 hole six minutes in. After the early struggles, however, BU played FGCU nearly even the rest of the half (21-19) and trailed 36-21 at the break. But the Eagles used a 9-0 run minutes into the second half to push their lead to 22, 45-23, and the hosts kept Binghamton at bay the rest of the way.

"I thought we got a lot of pretty good looks but we were rushed because of their speed and athleticism," head coach Tommy Dempsey said. "I'm proud of the way we competed tonight ... we played really hard against a really good team. Some nights the ball goes in better than others but I thought it was a great effort from start to finish. Give credit to Florida Gulf Coast ... their guards are elite defenders. You tend to look at ourselves but sometimes the other team plays really well on defense. I thought in particular, though, we played a good, hard second half and played them nearly even (33-32)."

Junior forward Dusan Perovic led BU with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting - with nine of those points coming in the second half. 

The Bearcats will finish off a hectic three-games-in-three-nights stretch with a neutral site matchup against Big West power Long Beach State at 7 p..m. Thursday night from the same FGCU Alico Arena. The task won't get any easier against a 49ers team that is ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Major poll and was picked to win the Big West this season.