DUNK CITY, Fla. – Behind a career-high 24 points from sophomore Christian Terrell, the FGCU men's basketball team (4-3) never trailed and shot 51.5 percent from the floor en route to a 91-34 win Sunday night over visiting Ave Maria (0-6) at Alico Arena.
 
The 57-point margin of victory is the second-largest in school history behind only a 79-point differential, 109-30, in the program's initial 2002-03 season to Florida Christian College. Terrell – who recorded his 23rd and 24th points on his first collegiate dunk around the 10-minute mark of the second half (photo) – scored 16 of his game-high total in the opening half as the guard eclipsed his previous record of 22 set last December versus Florida Tech.
 
Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) led a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Eagles for the second time already this year as Marc-Eddy Norelia tallied 14 points and six rebounds, Kevin Mickle (Brooklyn, N.Y./Broward/CCSU/St. Benedict's Prep) posted season highs of 12 points and seven rebounds, Demetris Morant also established season bests in points with 11 and rebounds with nine and Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) netted 10 points and also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds. 
 
Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) set the tone for the entire contest with a put-back dunk on FGCU's opening possession which spearheaded a 7-0 start to the game for the Eagles. With the Green and Blue in front, 23-15, at the 12-minute mark, FGCU went a 20-0 run over the next seven minutes and eventually extended the lead to 55-20 at the half over the NAIA member from about 20 minutes east of Naples.
 
The second half started the same way as Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) threw down a dunk to cap a 10-0 beginning to the stanza to open up a 45-point lead, 65-20. The Eagles' advantage ballooned to 57 on three separate occasions as they scored just four points over the final six minutes of the contest.
 
"Christian got us off to a good start. He's starting to really play with some confidence," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "We had a lot of guys contribute and were able to keep most of their minutes low. We were also able to get the young guys some good action and had a pretty good flow with them. Overall, it was a good performance and we were able to get the taste of the loss at Florida on Friday out of our mouths."
 
Redshirt senior Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) has been bothered by an ankle injury the past few games, and he did not suit up on Sunday. Aside from him, every other Green and Blue member who was dressed appeared in the game, and all 13 of them logged multiple minutes. No one played more than 25 minutes for the Eagles, who face their second SEC member in six days on the road Wednesday against No. 25 Texas A&M.
 
The Eagles out-scored Ave Maria in the paint, 54-12, in points off turnovers, 25-6, and in second-chance points, 24-4, as they bounced back from just a 13-point win over the Gyrenes last season.
 
Ave Maria was led offensively by Brandon Barnes with eight points. Martez Harris added seven points for the Gyrenes, and Eric Richardson tallied five as the Eagles limited Ave Maria to 31.9-percent shooting (15-47) and 16.7 percent (3-18) from the 3-point line.
 
The 34 points are the third-fewest the Eagles have allowed in program history, with the only lower occurances both being 30-point outings by Penn in 2007-08 (60-30) and the aforementioned Florida Christian College.
 
Freshman Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) flirted with a double-double with eight points and a season-high nine rebounds – five of which came on the offensive end to lead the Eagles. Redshirt freshman Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) scored just two points but issued a season-high-tying six assists against only turnover. Fellow freshman point guard Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) added seven points and a pair of steals for the Eagles, who made five of their six first-half 3-point shots.
 
With the double-figure scoring performances from Mickle and Morant, FGCU's young, talented and deep roster has now had 10 different players score in double figures through the first seven games of the year. As has been the case nearly all year, all but three of the Eagles' 91 points, all but three of their 51 rebounds and all but one of their 14 assists came from non-seniors.
 
FGCU will face a much stronger test on Wednesday when it heads to College Station to face the Aggies (6-1) at 8 p.m. Eastern on the SEC Network+. The Aggies are nationally ranked after winning their first six games, but fell to Syracuse in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game on Friday after defeating No. 10 Gonzaga the day prior.
 
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 105-79 (.571), and in his two years with FGCU is 48-27 (.640).

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.