FGCU: Eagles ready to tip-off tournament

This weekend, the Florida Gulf Coast University men's and women's basketball programs get a chance to see how good they really are in the Hillmyer-Tremont Tip-Off Classic (women) and Tip-Off Tournament (men) at Alico Arena.

Games begin at 2 p.m. with the opening game of the Classic between Puerto Rico-Bayamon and American International (Mass.).

The FGCU women (1-2) will play Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (1-0) at 6 p.m.

The Tournament begins at 4 p.m. as Ashland (Ohio) takes on Lynn University. The FGCU men (2-0) will play Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (2-2) in the nightcap at 8.

Saturday, American International plays Rio Piedras at 2 while FGCU takes on Bayamon at 6.

On the men's side, the consolation game will be at 4 p.m., with the championship at 8.

The Hillmyer-Tremont is something the Eagle men have been looking forward to since last year, when they finished third in last year's tournament after losing to Bayamon in the semifinal.

But things are different this season. The Eagles are deeper than they were a year ago.

Twelve players have all seen playing time in the team's first two games. That total doesn't even include senior forward Leighton Bowie, who could make his season debut this weekend after missing FGCU's first two games with an eye injury.

Bowie worked out with goggles Thursday and could play this weekend.

The Eagles will probably need all the healthy bodies they can get. If you add in FGCU's 99-55 romp over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Wednesday, the Eagles will play four games in six days.

"Some of the guys we left in longer than we normally would because we need to keep bodies fresh," Balza said. "(Playing so often) can take the wear and tear on you."

FGCU hopes to get a little redemption from last year's inaugural Tip-Off Tournament when the Eagles finished third. It'll be easier said than done against three teams that are all established NCAA Division II programs.

Lynn (1-1) returns all five starters from last year's team while Ashland (0-1) has a young squad but an experienced coach in Roger Lyons, for whom Balza served as an assistant coach from 1996-98.

"I know Roger and they'll be similar to us offensively," Balza said. "And we scrimmaged Lynn last year and they've got everybody back so we have a good feel for their personnel."

And all Rio Piedras did Wednesday night was go on the road and beat Rollins College, the seventh-ranked team in Division II.

"It will be an excellent test," Balza said. "Our tournaments this year, if people come out they're going to see some really good basketball."

The FGCU women's biggest test this weekend appears to be Saturday against Bayamon, which went 27-4 last season.

"They're a solid team," said FGCU women's coach Karl Smesko. "We have to be a little bit smarter. We'll rotate people in and out and keep people fresh."

Junior forward Noreen McCallum scored a career-high 23 points in FGCU's 91-32 rout of Mayaguez Wednesday. Not normally a scorer by trade, Smesko is asking McCallum to take on more of the scoring load this season.

"We're not really running plays for her but we're working to get her open," Smesko said. "We want her to work harder to get scoring opportunities. We want her to do more than be somebody picking up loose balls around the basket."