ESTERO, Fla. – Coming off a season-opening stretch in which it played three games in five days, the FGCU men's basketball team (3-0) will play three games in three days at the Gulf Coast Showcase beginning Monday at 6 p.m. against Marist at Germain Arena.
 
ABOUT THE GULF COAST SHOWCASE
Presented and hosted by bd Global, the Gulf Coast Showcase features a quality field of eight mid-major programs who will be battling it out in the second-annual event. In addition to FGCU and Marist, the field includes San Francisco, Hawaii, Fresno State, Green Bay, East Carolina and Evansville. Included in the eight teams are five squads which won at least 20 games from a season ago.
 
San Francisco (21-12), Fresno State (21-18), Green Bay (24-7) and Hawaii (20-11) join FGCU (22-13) as the 20-win teams from last season in the field. In terms of postseason trips a season ago for the eight-team field, San Francisco, Green Bay and FGCU all participated in the NIT, while Fresno State played in the CBI (College Basketball Invitational) and East Carolina (17-17) appeared in the CIT (College Insider Tournament).
 
If FGCU were to defeat Marist, the Eagles would play the winner of San Francisco and Hawaii on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. With a loss to the Red Foxes, FGCU would play the loser of San Francisco and Hawaii at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. With another victory on Tuesday, FGCU would play in the championship game on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. All eight teams are guaranteed to play three games in three days, regardless of outcomes.
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting the Germain Arena CenturyLink Box Office or online at Ticketmaster.com. All-session passes and individual-session passes can be purchased by clicking the links at the top of this release. Games each day are broken into afternoon (Noon and 2:30 p.m. starts) and evening (6 and 8:30 p.m.) sessions.
 
Louisiana Tech won last year's inaugural event by defeating Atlantic 10 Conference member St. Bonaventure in the championship game. Perennial women's basketball power UConn and head coach Geno Auriemma will be participating in the eight-team women's tournament at Germain beginning Friday and concluding Sunday.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
The matchup will be the first all-time between FGCU and Marist, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and located two hours north of New York City in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Red Foxes are 0-2 and coming off a 76-62 loss at home Saturday night against Army.
 
RECORD SETTERS
Bernard Thompson set FGCU's Division-I single-game scoring record with 34 points as part of the Eagles' 79-62 win over Ohio on Wednesday, while fellow senior backcourt mate Brett Comer issued 10 assists versus the Bobcats to establish the Atlantic Sun Conference career assist record. Thompson broke his own record of 32 points during a double-overtime contest at USF last December, while Comer (who leads all active players with 641 career assists) surpassed 2014 Mercer graduate Langston Hall's A-Sun mark of 633.
 
TWEETABLES (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) #DepthCity: #DunkCity has had a different leading scorer in each of its first three games (Jamail Jones, 17; Comer, 28; Thompson, 34).
2) #FGCU is 3-0 for the first time in its D-I history (2007-08), and has not started a season 4-0 since 2003-04 (program's second year).
3) The Eagles held a 45-20 halftime lead on Ohio Wednesday and are now 25-0 dating back to 2012-13 when leading at the half.
4) Redshirt junior Julian DeBose will make his #FGCU debut Monday after serving a three-game suspension for violating team rules.
5) Through their first three games, the Eagles are shooting 47.7 percent from the field while holding their opponents to 36.7 percent.

SCOUTING MARIST
^ Marist opened the season with a 75-72 loss at Bucknell on Nov. 14 before having eight days off and commencing its home schedule versus Army Saturday night where it fell, 76-62.
^ The Red Foxes went 12-19 in 2013-14, including a 9-11 mark in MAAC action.
^ Mike Maker is in his first season as the head coach of Marist after spending the previous six seasons as the head coach of D-III Williams College.
^ Marist was picked to finish 8th in the 11-team MAAC, with Chavaughn Lewis and Khallid Hart both being named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
^ Lewis scored 21 points against Army and now has 1,562 career points to rank 5th on the Marist all-time scoring list.
^ Hart, the 2014 MAAC Rookie of the Year, netted 33 points at Bucknell and added another 16 versus the Black Knights.
 
HISTORY AT GERMAIN ARENA
FGCU will be playing at Germain Arena for the first time since the program's first two games were held at what was then known as Teco Arena in the 2002-03 season. Not knowing if Alico Arena would be ready in time, officials scheduled the Hillmyer-Tremont Tipoff Classic to be played at Germain (Teco) Arena. FGCU's first-ever game was a 98-90 loss to Puerto Rico-Bayaman on Nov. 22, 2002, before bouncing back with a 77-62 win over Concordia the next day.
 
TOURNAMENT ACTION
FGCU will be competing in its first in-season bracket-style tournament since 2012-13 when the Eagles hosted a four-team tournament which was part of the Battle 4 Atlantis. FGCU defeated Alcorn State, 50-48, and Toledo, 72-66, to punch its ticket to the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
 
ODDS & ENDS
FGCU's first two D-I wins this season have come over UC Santa Barbara and Ohio, two teams which combined won 46 games last year … after scoring 28 points against UCSB on Monday, Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) – who was bothered by a slight ankle injury against Ohio – did not score versus the Bobcats (but issued 10 assists), marking the first time he has not scored in a game since Jan. 5, 2014, at Stetson … Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) has 16 career 20-point games, the most among all active A-Sun players.
 
#NESTPROTECTED
While FGCU won't be playing at Alico Arena over the next three days, it will be just a couple miles down the road. Meanwhile, at its home venue, FGCU is now 33-3 at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season. The three losses have come to Lipscomb, Iona and Mercer, snapping – respectively – a nine-game home-court winning streak, another nine-game streak and a 12-game stretch. FGCU went 15-2 at home last year, 15-1 in 2012-13 and is 3-0 this season.
 
Furthermore, against non-conference opponents during the regular season, FGCU is 21-1 at The Nest since 2011-12. The Green and Blue went 5-0 in 2011-12, 7-0 in 2012-13, 6-1 in 2013-14 and is 3-0 so far this season. The loss to Iona snapped a 15-game winning streak at Alico against non-conference opponents.
 
RETWEETS
1) FGCU has already played one team, and could play as many as four more, which are ranked or receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll.
2) The Eagles were ranked No. 23 in the poll last week, and should move up when the next installment is released on Monday afternoon.
3) Thompson has been named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List, awarded annually to the nation's top mid-major player.
4) All 14 players who were dressed for FGCU's game against Ohio on Wednesday saw game action.
5) ESPN has named Thompson as the nation's No. 8 best returning dunker in college basketball.
 
THE MOST PROLIFIC BACKCOURT IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thompson and Comer are not only the best backcourt in the A-Sun but also one of the best in the nation, and based on the following numbers the best senior duo backcourt in all of D-I basketball. No other senior backcourt duo has combined to produce more stats than the following:
 
Points: 2,553
Next closest: 2,523 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 836
Next closest: 737 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 212
Next closest: 204 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 205
Next closest: 175 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 6,204
Next closest: 5,849 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
Additionally, Comer is the NCAA active career assist leader with 641, while Thompson is 5th among all active players with 214 career steals.
 
A-SUN FAVORITES
For the second-straight season, FGCU is the preseason league favorite to win the A-Sun, and the Eagles were a near-unanimous selection. FGCU garnered seven of the eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll (63 points), while it received 25 of 26 first-place votes in the media poll (207 points).
 
Thompson was named the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year and the A-Sun Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – the first time in at least five years the same player has been recognized with both awards. Comer and Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) join Thompson on the A-Sun Preseason All-Conference Team as FGCU is the only school with two unanimous selections (Comer and Thompson), and is tied with the University of North Florida for the most all-league selections with three.
 
STAT BREAKDOWN
A breakdown of FGCU's averages in four key areas last year during its 22 wins and 13 losses:
Field-Goal Percentage: Wins 49.4% Losses 42.1%
Field-Goal Percentage Defense: Wins 38.7% Losses 45.6%
Rebounds Per Game: Wins 38.5 Losses 33.4
Assists Per Game: Wins 14 Losses 10.8
 
Additionally, after playing through a non-conference schedule which was littered with injuries, suspensions and adapting to a new coach and system, FGCU hit its offensive groove in conference play. The Eagles averaged just 67.5 points per game in non-league games but 75.9 in A-Sun action.
 
2013-14 BY THE NUMBERS
3: FGCU was the only team in the nation which had three different players score at least 30 points in a game.
5: In the last 5 minutes of games, Thompson led FGCU in scoring with 80 points, while Comer was second with 73. No other player had even 60 points in the final 5 minutes.
11: FGCU was 11-2 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponents.
13: The Eagles were 13-1 when holding their opponents below 40 percent from the field.
17: When leading at the half FGCU was 17-0 and when scoring 70 or more points the Eagles were 17-3.
18: FGCU was 18-2 when out-rebounding its opponents.
60: The loss to Florida State in the NIT marked the first time FGCU held an opponent below 60 points and lost since the 2011-12 season at Nebraska (58-53).
 
GROWING UP QUICKLY
Despite only becoming D-I postseason eligible in the 2011-12 season, FGCU has already claimed an impressive nine wins in the postseason.
 
7-2: Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
FGCU is the only school in D-I history to reach the championship game of its conference tournament in each of its first three seasons of eligibility. The Eagles went 2-1 in 2012 (lost to Belmont), 3-0 in 2013 (defeated Mercer) and 2-1 in 2014 (lost to Mercer).
 
2-1: NCAA Tournament
FGCU became the first school in NCAA history to reach the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 15 seed in 2013 when the Eagles defeated No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State en route to captivating the nation and earning the #DunkCity moniker. The Green and Blue lost to No. 3 Florida in the next round.
 
0-1: NIT
FGCU won the program's first A-Sun regular-season championship in 2014 courtesy of a 14-4 league mark. The Eagles received a No. 8 seed in the NIT and traveled to No. 1 Florida State, falling just short (58-53) to the eventual NIT semifinalists.
 
THE ONLY ONE
FGCU is the only school in the Atlantic Sun Conference which has won an A-Sun Men's Basketball Championship. Conference re-alignment has drastically altered the landscape of collegiate athletics, and the A-Sun is no different. The Eagles joined the league in 2007-08 with USC Upstate, and prior to that North Florida and Kennesaw State both joined for the 2005-06 season. Lipscomb has been a member since 2003-04, Jacksonville since 1998-99 and Stetson since 1986-87. Northern Kentucky is in its third year in the A-Sun after joining in 2012-13 and has two years (including this season) of its NCAA-mandated Division-I reclassification period remaining.
 
A-STUN CONFERENCE
The Atlantic Sun Conference has been the talk of the college basketball world the last two postseasons as FGCU and Mercer (now a Southern Conference member) have both been responsible for three major upsets in the NCAA Tournament, affectionately turning the A-Sun into the A-Stun.
 
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 78 No. 2 Georgetown 68
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 81 No. 7 San Diego State 71
2014 NCAA Tournament: No. 14 Mercer 78 No. 3 Duke 71
 
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
For the second-consecutive year FGCU was selected by ESPN for inclusion in the worldwide leader's Midnight Madness coverage when the Eagles hosted Dunk City After Dark on Oct. 17. With that honor, FGCU joined only four other extremely tradition-rich programs which can boast that claim: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and UConn.
 
MORE BT & BC
BERNARD THOMPSON
Points: 1,449 – A-Sun active career leader, tied for 39th on the all-time conference scoring list and tops on the FGCU program career scoring record. If Thompson scores 605 points (20 points per game over the regular season), he would become only the eighth player in A-Sun history (first season: 1978-79) to reach 2,000 career points. The A-Sun career scoring record is held by Willie Jackson (2,535) who played for former league member Centenary from 1980-84. Thompson is currently 16th among all active D-I players for career points.
 
Steals: 214 – 5th among all active players. Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just 46 thefts this year to own the A-Sun career record (259), currently held by Vaughn Williams who played at former league member Arkansas-Little Rock from 1980-83.
 
MISC: Thompson needs just five assists to become the 6th player in program history with at least 200 career helpers (currently 195) … already FGCU's all-time leader in career free throws made (currently 288).
 
BRETT COMER
Assists: 641 – NCAA active career assist leader. Of the 106 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 96 times.
 
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.