SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) Bernard Thompson scored 24 points and hot-shooting Florida Gulf Coast turned away South Carolina Upstate 84-80 on Saturday.
The Eagles (17-10, 11-3) moved within a half-game of first-place Mercer (11-2) in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Chase Fieler added 17 points and Jamail Jones 14 for FGCU, who made 30 of 51 shots for 58.8 percent, including 11 of 19 from 3-point range for 57.9 percent.
Upstate's Ricardo Glenn had a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his conference-leading ninth double-double. Jodd Maxey added 16 points, Torrey Craig 14 and Fred Miller 10.
Glenn made two free throws with 21.9 seconds left to get the Spartans (15-14, 8-6) within 82-80. After a FGCU free throw, Craig missed a 3-point try and another FCGU free throw sealed the outcome. Craig, who has led the conference in scoring the last two seasons, missed all nine of his 3-point attempts.
