Florida Atlantic men’s basketball finished non-conference play with a 75-62 defeat at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast University on Wednesday night.

The two teams exchanged baskets for the first 15 minutes of the game as FGCU took a three point advantage. After the close start, the Eagles went on a 16-5 run to end the half and take a 38-24 lead into halftime.

Junior Christian Terrell scored 10 of FGCU’s 16 points to close the half. He finished the game with 20 points and six rebounds.

The Eagles built their lead up to 20 points in the second half with a layup from junior Brandon Goodwin, who scored 18 points for the game.

Sophomore Jeantal Cylla led the Owls in scoring with a season-high 16 points. Fellow sophomore Justin Massey was the only other Owl to reach double-digit figures in scoring, as he finished with 10.

The Owls not sit at 4-7 as they enter conference play, their best non-conference record since the 2014-15 season when they went 7-4.

Western Kentucky, who defeated the Owls 86-82 in overtime a season ago, will be both FAU’s first conference opponent and last matchup of 2016. The game will tip off in Boca Raton on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.

Brendan Feeney is the sports editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @feeney42.