FORT MYERS, Fla. – An impressive game by Richard Coil was not enough as Florida Tech's upset bid fell short in its showdown against Division I Florida Gulf Coast, 62-54, at Alico Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Playing on less than a day's rest following Saturday's home game with Palm Beach Atlantic, the Panthers had the Eagles on their heels all game long. The Crimson and Gray grabbed the lead three times during the contest including a two-point advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the second half.

"I'm extremely pleased with how well we played today on the road against a quality NCAA DI program," exclaimed head coach Billy Mims. "FGCU only lost by 10 last week at nationally ranked Wichita State, and today we led by two with less than seven minutes left in the game on their home floor! The way we bounced back from a tough loss at home less than 24 hours earlier showed the type of character our kids have. RJ (Coil) simply had a monster game. Several members of his family made the journey down from Ohio to see him play and they were treated to a memorable performance."

Coil guided the Panthers with 21 points and 12 rebounds, both game-highs, for his fifth consecutive double-double and eighth overall of the season. The junior went 8-for-11 from the field against the Eagles, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, in 31 minutes of action.

Patrick Anderson registered nine points, six rebounds and four assists and Michael Milligan recorded seven points and seven boards. Sam Daniel added seven points and six rebounds.

"We defended very well today, had our best rebounding effort of the season, and executed our offense well," said Mims. "We didn't shoot the ball as well as we are capable of, but that will come. Who knows, if we had been able to knock down a few more of the open threes we took, we just might have been able to pull off the upset."

The Panthers were held to 30 percent shooting (18-for-61) and made just  6-for-31 from long range. FIT's picked up its play on the defensive end of the court, limiting FGCU to just 45 percent (25-for-55) from the field and 4-21 from beyond the arc.

Florida Tech won the rebounding battle, 42-33, including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, leading to a 16-4 advantage in second chance points. FGCU outscored FIT in the paint, 38-20, and in bench points, 33-17.

After the Eagles went ahead 3-0, FIT took a 7-5 lead at the 14:12 mark following consecutive layups by Coil on great passes from Valur Valsson. From there FGCU proceeded on a 16-1 run and grabbed a 21-8 advantage with 7:47 to go in the half.

The Panthers outscored the home team 15-12 over the remainder of the half and went into the intermission trailing, 32-23. Ten of FIT's 15 points during that final stretch came from bench players.

FGCU led 44-35 with 12:29 remaining before the Panthers began an 11-0 run that gave them a 46-44 advantage on Coil's third three-pointer of the game with 6:08 to go. The Eagles regained control and outscored FIT 18-8 over the final six minutes to earn the win.

The game served as an exhibition contest for Florida Tech. For FGCU, the contest counted toward its overall record and statistics, but did not have any effect on the Eagles' RPI.

Florida Tech resumes Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 3, hosting Florida Southern at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Clemente Center. Fans can access live coverage of the action at FloridaTechSports.com/live.