DUNK CITY, Fla. – Led by Filip Cvjeticanin's game- and career-high 18 points, the FGCU men's basketball team (1-1) had five players in double-figure scoring and cruised to an 85-62 home-opening win Monday night at Alico Arena against Texas Wesleyan.
 
Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) recorded his third career double-double with 15 points and team-best 11 rebounds, Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) tallied 14 points, Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) added 13 and Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) chipped in with 11 points as the Eagles shot 47.8 percent (33-69) from the floor.
 
Cvjeticanin (Zagreb, Croatia/American School of Madrid) also set a career high by knocking down six 3-pointers as the redshirt senior was at one point 5-6 from beyond the arc and bested his previous-high marks for 3s and points by one. While he didn't score, true freshman point guard Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) was again impressive taking care of the ball as two days after issuing five assists against just one turnover at Ohio, he handed out a game-high six helpers against Texas Wesleyan without a giveaway.
 
Fellow freshman point guard Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) put together a solid all-around game with eight points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. For Norelia, he was again efficient, going 5-7 from the floor and 5-6 from the free-throw line. Several of those points came in the low blocks as FGCU out-scored the Rams in the paint, 47-24, and held a 50-42 rebounding edge.
 
Trailing 13-11 just a little less than five minutes into the game, FGCU blew the contest open with a 19-0 run over the next five minutes to create a 30-13 lead, and led by double figures the rest of the game – which was delayed at the start by a half hour following a Texas Wesleyan player damaging a rim while dunking in warmups, which is allowed this season.
 
"Overall we played pretty well, especially with Reggie and Zach taking care of the ball and Filip giving us a big boost with his perimeter shooting," said head coach Joe Dooley. "We had some spurts where we valleyed out, but our energy level was good most of the time. We didn't rebound the ball as well late in the game, and that's something we need to do a better job of – to pursue the ball more."
 
The +8 rebound margin for the Eagles was a drastic improvement from the -14 edge they faced at Ohio (45-31), and that led to an 18-11 edge in second-chance points after being out-scored in that category on Saturday, 21-8. The Eagles also capitalized with a +10 advantage in points off turnovers, 19-9.
 
Trevon Jeffery and BJ Batts each scored 15 points to lead the Rams, who were 3-0 entering the game as an NAIA member and averaging close to 90 points per game. Sam Akano recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jerell Ellis added 10 points for Texas Wesleyan, which shot just 33.8 percent (22-65) from the floor.
 
The 23-point victory marks the fifth-straight time that FGCU has bounced back from a season-opening loss to win by double figures in its next game (2010-13 being the previous occurrences). The win also extends FGCU's record at Alico Arena since 2012-13 to 44-8 (.846).
 
After playing two games in three days, the Eagles will now host the Hilton Garden FGCU Classic at Alico Arena where they will play three games in three nights Saturday-Monday. The exempt tournament also features games each day at 4 p.m. not featuring FGCU.
 
Saturday, Nov. 21
North Dakota vs. Bowling Green, 4 PM
FGCU vs. Youngstown State, 7 PM
Sunday, Nov. 22
Youngstown State vs. Bowling Green, 4 PM
FGCU vs. North Dakota, 7 PM
Monday, Nov. 23
North Dakota vs. Youngstown State, 4 PM
FGCU vs. Bowling Green, 7 PM
 
TICKET INFORMATION
An extremely limited amount of season tickets are still available for the 2015-16 FGCU men's basketball season. Single-game tickets are currently on sale. For the latest ticket information, log on to FGCUAthletics.com or call the Alico Arena Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.

SOCIAL CENTRAL
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, Like us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB and watch us on Snapchat at FGCU_MBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by head coach Joe Dooley, who is in his third year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and coached six all-conference selections during his first two seasons. He guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to their third-straight 20-win season and third-straight postseason appearance with a berth in the CIT. 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. Dooley is in his seventh season overall as a head coach and has a record of 102-77 (.560), and in his two years with FGCU is 45-25 (.643).

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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.