Dunk City will not return to the NCAA tournament this March
Bernard Thompson's college career ended Thursday night in the cruelest fashion imaginable.
The Florida Gulf Coast senior missed the potential game-tying free throw with 1.4 seconds left in the Atlantic Sun semifinals, condemning the second-seeded Eagles to a heartbreaking 63-62 loss to third-seeded South Carolina Upstate.
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FGCU trailed by three points in the dying seconds of regulation when Thompson zoomed up court and drew a foul attempting a top of the key 3-pointer. Thompson calmly made the first two foul shots for his 24th and 25th points of the night, but his third attempt was inches long and caromed off the back rim as time expired.
The missed free throw sent South Carolina Upstate to the Atlantic Sun title game to face top-seeded North Florida. It also ensured FGCU will not have a chance to reenact its swashbuckling 2013 NCAA tournament run when it upset Georgetown and San Diego State, earned the moniker 'Dunk City' and became the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16.
The last two remaining rotation players from that team are Thompson and point guard Brett Comer, both of whom were brilliant on Thursday. Thompson sank five 3-pointers and Comer scored 15 points and added seven assists, but they did not get enough help from their teammates.
Now Thompson and Comer may have played their last game in an FGCU uniform. All the Eagles (22-10, 11-3) can hope for is a berth in a lesser postseason tournament.
(Thanks for the video, Naples Daily News)
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
