DUNK CITY, Fla. – Two schools which combined to make NCAA Tournament history just a couple years ago will be looking to snap losing streaks on Thursday afternoon when the FGCU men's basketball team (6-7) welcomes La Salle (4-5) to Alico Arena for a New Year's Eve Day matinee at 1:30.
 
OPENING TIP
FGCU enters on a three-game losing streak – all to top-110 RPI teams and by a combined 15 points – while La Salle has dropped four straight – with the last two coming by a combined 75 points to top-20 Villanova and Miami. The contest will represent the final regular-season Division-I non-conference opponent for FGCU, while La Salle will embark on Atlantic 10 Conference action against Massachusetts.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Tickets are still available and can be secured by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office. For those not able to make it to The Nest, the game – like all FGCU home contests – will be broadcast on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app with David Moulton and J. Webb Horton on the call. Additionally, live stats are available, and a multitude of social media platforms can also be accessed at the top of this release for fans to keep up with the action and behind-the-scenes coverage.
 
TWEETABLES
1) FGCU averages 42.5 rebounds per game compared with 32.1 for La Salle; the Explorers have been out-rebounded in all five of their losses.
2) The Eagles will be looking to avoid their first four-game losing streak under Dooley as FGCU hasn't dropped four straight since Nov. 19-27, 2011.
3) FGCU has not entered January below .500 since 2011-12 (5-7); the Eagles were 7-7 heading into January in 2013-14 and won the A-Sun regular season.
4) Nine of FGCU's 11 games against D-I opponents have been decided by 10 points or less, including six straight for the first time since 2011-12.
5) Entering this week, only Dayton (6), Wichita State (5) and Kennesaw State (5) had played more top-50 RPI opponents than FGCU (Florida, Texas A&M, Louisiana Tech, South Dakota State).
 
SCOUTING LA SALLE
^ La Salle was picked to finish in 9th place in the 14-team A-10 in the preseason conference poll.
^ Jordan Price ranks 12th in the nation in scoring at 22.6 per game. The Preseason A-10 First Team selection leads a trio of double-figure scorers for the Explorers as Cleon Roberts averages 11.2 per outing and Johnnie Shuler adds 10.3 a game. Tony Washington (6.4 rebounds per game) paces La Salle on the glass, while Shuler contributes 5.3.
^ Shuler ranks third in the A-10 in free-throw shooting at 91.3 percent, Roberts is third in steals per game (2.1) and Washington is second in the league in blocks per game at 2.3.
^ Dr. John Giannini is one of two D-I head coaches with doctorates (Lehigh's Brad Reed). Giannini received his degree in kinesiology with a specialization in sports psychology from Illinois in 1992. Giannini is in his 12th season with La Salle and 27th overall with previous stops at Rowan (now D-II) and Maine.
 
REBOUNDING EMPHASIS
Rebounding will likely be a deciding factor in the outcome of the game as all five of La Salle's losses have come when it has been out-rebounded, and FGCU has not yet won a game when it is out-rebounded. In their six wins, the Eagles are averaging 48.7 rebounds and out-rebounding their opponents by a 10.5 margin. In their seven losses, the Eagles are averaging just 37.3 rebounds and being out-rebounded by a 3.3 margin.
 
NATION'S BEST
FGCU has the best 3-point percentage defense in the nation, holding opponents to just .247 from beyond the arc. The Eagles finished 5th in that category last year (24.6 percent).
 
SWEET 16 RUNS
While FGCU captured the country's attention with its high-flying Dunk City attack en route to becoming the only 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to reach the Sweet 16 in 2013, La Salle flew under the radar nationally but advanced the Sweet 16 the same year as a 13 seed. It marked the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two teams seeded 13 or worse advanced to the Sweet 16 in the same year.
 
Dunk City got there by doing just that – dunking and flying around the court in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, about 13 miles south of La Salle's campus in the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles defeated 2nd-seeded Georgetown, 78-68, and then took down 7th-seeded San Diego State, 81-71, before falling to 3rd-seeded Florida, 62-50.
 
La Salle, meanwhile, used a shot from Tyrone Garland with 2.5 seconds left in the 3rd Round to knock off 12th-seeded Ole Miss, 76-74, in a bucket which became known as the Southwest Philly Floater. The Explorers won a play-in game at Dayton against 13th-seeded Boise State, 80-71, and then took down 4th-seeded Kansas State, 63-61, in Kansas City before tackling the Rebels in the same city they won the national championship in 1954 over Bradley.
 
FGCU AND THE A-10
La Salle is the second Atlantic 10 Conference member FGCU will play this year, with the first being UMass. In that contest on Dec. 13, freshman Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) converted the game-winning and-1 finish with 10 seconds left to knock off the Minutemen, 77-76.
 
The Explorers will be the fourth different current A-10 member the Eagles will have faced. FGCU is 2-2 all-time versus A-10 foes, with both wins coming over UMass the last two years, and the two losses coming to VCU in 2012-13 and Richmond in 2008-09.
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) scored a career-high 25 points Monday versus South Dakota, and also added a career-best five steals. After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, Terrell has catapulted to 14.8 per game this year – an increase of 11.5 – and has led the Eagles in scoring a team-best six times.
^ Redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) secured his sixth double-double of the season against the Coyotes with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He moved within one double-double of matching the Division-I program single-season record of seven held by Chase Fieler in 2013-14. Three of Norelia's 20-point outings have come in the past four games. Norelia is tied for the A-Sun lead in rebounding at 8.8 per outing, and ranks tied for 8th in the league with 15.5 points per game.
^ Redshirt senior Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) tallied 12 points opposite South Dakota, the most he's scored in a game since netting 14 against Youngstown State on Nov. 21.
 
TEAM QUICK HITS
^ FGCU held a 36-32 halftime lead on LA Tech in its last home game on Dec. 22, but surrendered its second halftime lead of the year (33-32 at Florida). Under Dooley, FGCU is 38-3 when leading at the half, with the lone other loss coming last year to FIU.
^ While FGCU has blown two halftime leads this year, it also has already overcome two double-digit second-half deficits (15 vs. Youngstown State; 13 at FIU) for the first time in single-season program history.
^ The Eagles overcame another second-half double-digit deficit on Monday versus South Dakota as they trailed by 14 and eventually went ahead by three with less than a minute to play, but were unable to hold on and lost in overtime.
^ FGCU rejected 10 shots on Monday, led by a career-best five from Norelia, to rank tied as the 4th-most in a single game in program history. The single-game record is 13, set against former A-Sun member ETSU in 2012-13.
 
RECAPPING SOUTH DAKOTA
For the third time this year, FGCU overcame a double-digit second-half deficit to force overtime, but for the first time it failed to convert it into a win as the Eagles dropped an 89-81 decision to South Dakota (8-6) Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Trailing 47-33 with 13 minutes remaining, FGCU turned to its full-court pressure and immediately started turning the Coyotes over. The Eagles utilized an extended 20-5 run over five minutes to take the lead, 53-52, on a pair of Tucker free throws with 8 minutes left.
 
USD held a 68-66 lead with 1:30 remaining, but DeBose stepped up and delivered a huge baseline 3-pointer to put the Eagles in front. On the next trip, Norelia knocked down an elbow jumper and FGCU had a 71-68 advantage. However, USD's Tre Burnette converted an and-1 finish with 33 seconds left, and the Coyotes' defense stood firm to give them one more chance to win it in regulation, but a long 3-point effort fell short.
 
In overtime, FGCU never led and trailed by as much as five with a minute to play before DeBose hit another 3-pointer to make it a two-point margin, 83-81, with 50 seconds left. After an FGCU timeout, D.J. Davis knocked down a short jumper in the paint with 20 seconds to play. The Eagles turned the ball over twice in the waning seconds trying to push the tempo, and the Coyotes converted both into buckets to score six points in the closing 20 seconds and provide the winning margin.
 
YOUNG, TALENTED AND DEEP
FGCU has just two seniors on its roster, and so far this year 83 percent of its scoring, 86 percent of its rebounding (excluding team rebounds) and 87 percent of its assists have come from non-seniors.
 
Not only are the Eagles young and talented, but they are deep as already this year 10 different players have reached double-figure points in a game. The only team in the nation with more is Georgia Southern with 11. Additionally, FGCU had four different leading scorers through its first six games.
 
Below is a list of players who have already scored 10 or more points in a game, their season high and how many times they've led the team in scoring.
 
R-Jr. Norelia (5): 34
R-Fr. Zach Johnson (1): 26
So. Terrell (6): 25
R-Sr. Filip Cvjeticanin (1): 18
Fr. Reggie Reid: 18
R-Sr. DeBose: 16
Fr. Tucker: 15
R-So. Antravious Simmons: 13
R-So. Kevin Mickle: 12
R-Jr. Demetris Morant: 11
 
HOME SUCCESS
FGCU is 48-10 at Alico Arena since 2012-13. Seven of those 10 losses have come since the start of the 2014-15 season. FGCU is 5-3 at home this year, was 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
GOLDEN SUMMER
DeBose won a gold medal as part of Team USA at the World University Games (WUG) this summer in South Korea ... was one of only two players (SMU's Nic Moore) on the team not from Kansas University ... finished the tournament averaging 4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 10.8 minutes per contest ... scored a team-high 18 points in the USA's final group-round game against Switzerland ... connected on 50 percent (13-26) of his shots from the floor during the WUG, including 3-8 from 3-point range ... added nine offensive and nine defensive rebounds, with the nine offensive boards representing the second-most by any guard on the roster  ... also contributed six steals and a block as Team USA won its games by an average of 20.3 points.
 
NEXT UP
As most conferences around the country enter league play with the turn of the calendar to 2016, FGCU won't play its first A-Sun game until Jan. 9, leaving the Eagles with a pair of non-D-I opponents to conclude the non-conference docket. The Green and Blue will play host to D-II Eckerd (12-1) as the first game in a men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 4 p.m. The Eagles will then entertain Webber International at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are currently on sale for all remaining home contests. 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 107-83 (.563), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 50-31 (.617).
 
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.