FORT MYERS, Fla. – Bernard Thompson scored 18 of his 34 points in the first half to lead Florida Gulf Coast to a huge halftime lead that carried it past Ohio, 79-62, on Wednesday night at a soldout Aliko Arena.

The Eagles (3-0) led by as many as 26 and held a 45-20 halftime lead before the Bobcats (1-1) made a run early in the second half to get as close as 10 with still 11 minutes remaining, but they could not continue the momentum beyond that.

Javarez Willis had 14 of his team-high 17 points after the break, and Maurice Ndour scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, but he fouled out with 4:42 remaining and played only 25 minutes because of foul trouble.

Ohio shot just 16.1 percent in the first half, before turning things around offensively after the break with a 51.7 percent mark. But it never found its touch from the outside, finishing the game 2 of 20 from long range.

For much of the first half, Thompson was outscoring Ohio on his own, and he finished the game 14 of 20, with only two misses on 13 attempts inside the arc. Jamail Jones and Marc-Eddy Noreila each had 11 points for FGCU.

After not hitting a shot from the field in the first half, Ndour took over in the second half. He had two baskets with a Stevie Taylor free throw in between, and Willis converted a three-point play that completed an 8-0 run for Ohio to begin the second half.

Thompson finally ended the run with a basket, but the Bobcats got six more in a row to get to within 47-34 barely more than five minutes into the half.

FGCU point guard Brett Comer, who became the Atlantic Sun Conference’s all-time leader in assists, missed much of the early portion of the second half with an ankle injury, but he returned and helped get his team back in control, despite not scoring in the game. He finished the game with 10 assists.

Ndour picked up his third foul with 15:18 and his fourth foul with 11:31 remaining on a rebounding play where there seemed to be very little contact, sending him to the bench.

It was the Eagles, though, who took biggest issue with the officiating. Noreila threw down a dunk on an inbound play, and Comer was hit with a technical for arguing that a foul also should have been called. Coach Joe Dooley also picked up a technical, and Willis hit four free throws that got the Bobcats to within 54-44.

Taylor missed from beyond the arc, and the Eagles came through with six straight points. After that, Ohio only got as close as 67-55 on its only 3-pointer of the second half, a make by Antonio Campbell with 5:08 to go.

Wadley Mompremier dunked for the game’s first points, but the first half after that belonged to FGCU, and in particular, Thompson. With his team leading 9-7, he scored a fast-break layup, and after a Jones 3-pointer, Thompson scored seven straight to cap a 12-0 run.

The Eagles had another 12-0 run that gave them a 33-12 lead at the 5:47 mark. The lead grew to as big as 41-15 with 2:26 left in the first half.

Ndour was a rebound shy of his second-straight double-double, and he added two steals and two blocks. Norelia had eight boards to lead the Eagles.

After scoring 21 points in his college debut, freshman Ryan Taylor had only four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Stevie Taylor was just 1-of-7 shooting, and Campbell was 4 of 12.

Ohio hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Convo.