With 42.9 seconds left in the game and the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles up 12 points, Eastern alumnus and assistant Gulf Coast coach sat on the bench with a hand trying to cover the smile on his face.

“It feels good,” Marc Polite said. “But it’s kind of bitter sweet.”

Eagle forward Leighton Bowie seemed to think Polite felt a little better than good.

“I saw him going into the locker room and he was just grinning,” Bowie said. “He’ll probably go out with his friends and celebrate this one.”

Since the Eagles are not eligible for post season play this year, Polite tried to instill in his players minds this was as close to a post season game as they’ll get. They came through with their first ever win over a division one program.

“Coach did say that,” Bowie said. “He (Polite) said this needs to be our tournament and we have to end on a good note as opposed to a bad one.”

“We have four Division I transfers and this game was a chance for them to come out and show they belong,” Polite said.

Polite said coming in he knew his team wasn’t expected to win, but he felt being a former Panther gave his Eagles a huge advantage.

“They’re a great motion team,” Polite said. “But I know all the nooks and crannies of that motion.”

Polite said he knew the Panthers would be forced out of their motion offense if his Eagles went to a zone. And with 10 minutes left to play in the second half, the Eagles went to a 2-3 zone, and shut the Panthers down.

“We had to disrupt their tempo and keep our guys from chasing through all of those screens,” Polite said.

Polite said he knew head Panther coach Rick Samuels would try to mix up his offense and throw something other than their regular motion offense at the Eagles. But Polite said his guys just got down in their defensive stances and wouldn’t let the Panthers score.

The Eagles wouldn’t let the Panthers score, but the Panthers let Bowie score to the dismay of the few fans in attendance.

Bowie turned sneers and jeers from the crowd into dunks and boards on the court.

Bowie led his Eagles with 26 points and eight rebounds. He is averaging just over 19 points and seven rebounds a game but he’ll do whatever his team needs him to do to get the win.

“My philosophy isn’t strictly scoring,” Bowie said. “If I notice we’re slacking in a certain aspect that night, I’ll go do it. Whether it be rebounds, assists or just making a play, I’ll go do it. If I’m not shooting well, I’ll look for the open guy.”

“Bowie is a great player and a top notch athlete from a top notch program at (Division I) College of Charleston,” Polite said.

“This is a great win for our program,” Bowie said. “It was a great effort to get our first Division I win.”