DUNK CITY, Fla. – Backed by an explosive closing stretch from senior Brett Comer, the FGCU men's basketball team (2-0) outlasted a tough UC Santa Barbara team (0-2) to earn a hard-fought 81-75 overtime victory in front of another sellout crowd at Alico Arena Monday night.
 
Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) posted another double-double as he finished with 28 points and 11 assists as the Dunk City maestro took over in the final seven minutes of regulation and then OT. Jamail Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) also started the campaign with back-to-back double-doubles as the redshirt senior posted 14 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes.
 
With the game tied at 62-62, Comer hit a pull-up jumper to put FGCU ahead, 64-62, with 6 seconds remaining. What appeared to be the game-winning bucket went for naught when on the ensuing UCSB possession, the refs ruled that Alan Williams was fouled by Nate Hicks (Panama City Beach, Fla./J.R. Arnold HS/Georgia Tech) attempting the game-tying layup. Williams – one of the most unheralded low-post players in the nation – hit both free throws to force overtime.
 
In overtime, Comer was responsible for nearly half of FGCU's 17 points in the 5-minute session as the point guard netted eight. The Eagles never trailed overtime, and the deciding push came in a 2-minute stretch from the 3-minute mark to the 1-minute mark in which FGCU out-scored UCSB, 6-0, to open up an insurmountable 74-68 lead following a Comer and-1 finish.
 
Coming off a 16-point, 13-rebound performance in the season opener, redshirt sophomore Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Olympia HS/Tulane) tallied 14 points, and senior guard Bernard Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) added 13 points and seven rebounds as FGCU opened a season 2-0 for the first time in the Division-I era, and first time since the 2005-06 campaign.
 
After sitting from the 11-minute mark of the second half until the 7-minute mark, Comer checked back in with three fouls and immediately forced his presence on the Gauchos. In the final seven minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime, Comer scored 18 points and issued three assists. When he checked back in, FGCU trailed, 49-47, and on FGCU's next four scoring possessions Comer hit a layup, assisted on a layup, converted another layup and then made another lay-in to put the Eagles ahead, 55-51.
 
FGCU's big men battled all night in the low blocks with Williams, who totaled 29 points and 16 rebounds as the 6-8, 265-pound senior converted 11-14 free-throw attempts and added a team-best four assists. John Green came off the bench to net 17 points for the Gauchos, who went 21-9 last year, return four starters from that team and lost by only 10, 69-59, at No. 5 Kansas on Friday night.
 
"To tell you the truth, that was a great college game for this time of the year," said FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "UCSB is a very, very good team and they're going to win a lot of games. I thought the game had a lot of ebb and flow, and when we got some stops we were able to get out and run.
 
"Guarding him (Williams) was a nightmare, and it's going to be a nightmare for anyone who has to play him this year," Dooley continued. "I thought an underrated player in the game was Nate Hicks and the job he did considering he was cleared to play on Friday. But it was a heck of a win for us; they're going to win a lot of games this year."
 
The matchup between two of the best programs in mid-major basketball lived up to its billing as neither team ever led by double figures, the score was tied 12 times and changed hands seven times. Additionally, the two sides each had 20 bench points, 12 points off turnovers and FGCU won the battle of points in the paint by just two, 34-32.
 
Hicks – who tore his left ACL and medial meniscus in FGCU's NIT match against Florida State in March – made his first appearance of the year and provided 25 valuable minutes, scoring four points and adding four rebounds. Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./Bishop Gorman HS/UNLV) also provided important minutes matching up with Williams as the redshirt sophomore went 2-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the charity stripe and grabbed two boards.
 
Comer has now started the season with back-to-back 11-assist games to move his NCAA active career-leading total to 631 – three shy of setting the Atlantic Sun Conference career mark.
 
The sellout crowd of 4,412 was the second of the year for FGCU and 15th dating back to last season – something which occurred only once prior to the 2013-14 season. FGCU is now 32-3 at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season and 20-1 at The Nest since 2011-12 against non-conference opponents.
 
FGCU will have another quick turnaround as the Eagles welcome Ohio University on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The Bobcats, who went 25-12 last year, opened their season with a 73-47 win over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon. The game will be the final contest of a three-game-in-five day stretch to open the season for FGCU as the Green and Blue will next return to the court on Monday, Nov. 24, at the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena against Marist.
 
GAME NOTES: FGCU shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half (10-25), 54 percent in the second half (14-26) and 67 percent in overtime (4-6) to finish the game at 49 percent (28-57) … UCSB connected at a 40-percent clip from the floor (26-65) … FGCU had 19 assists and 10 turnovers, while UCSB had eight assists and nine turnovers … the game was tied for 8 minutes and 23 seconds … after scoring 32 points in the first half and 32 points in the second half, FGCU tallied 17 points in overtime.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
General-admission tickets for all FGCU men's basketball games at Alico Arena are still available and can be purchased by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets, in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office or over the phone at 239-590-7145. For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, and "Like" us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach Joe Dooley, who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.