DUNK CITY, Fla. – Demetris Morant scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed a career-high-tying 17 rebounds as the FGCU men's basketball team (17-6, 6-1 ASUN) dominated Jacksonville (14-10, 2-5 ASUN) in the paint en route to an impressive 78-56 win Saturday night in front of a near sold-out crowd at Alico Arena.
 
The Eagles – who lead the nation in points in the paint at 42.8 per outing – tallied 58 against the Dolphins while only surrendering 14. All but eight of FGCU's points came in the paint or at the free throw line.
 
Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) was an uber-efficient 11-14 from the field, including throwing down eight dunks – matching the entire number of field goals Jacksonville made as a team in the 2nd half. Dunk City – which is 3rd in the nation in field goal percentage at better than 51 percent – had a season-high 12 slams, energizing the crowd of 4,402.
 
In addition to Morant's career night, Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) tallied 16 points and passed out a game-high seven assists, and Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) netted 11 points and secured five rebounds.
 
FGCU held just a 36-33 halftime lead as the Eagles allowed the Dolphins – who came into the game ranked 7th in the nation in 3-pointers made – to shoot 50 percent from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. JU scored 31 of its 33 1st-half points from the 3-point line or free-throw line, while FGCU scored 34 of its 36 1st-half points in the paint or at the free-throw line.
 
While Morant set the tone offensively for the Eagles, Kevin Mickle (Brooklyn, N.Y./Broward CC/CCSU/St. Benedict's Prep) set the tone defensively. After not playing at all in the 1st half, Mickle played 13 minutes in the 2nd half and arguably had the biggest impact in slowing the Dolphins' perimeter attack. After going 9-18 from 3-point range in the 1st half, JU went just 2-17 in the 2nd half.
 
The Eagles – who didn't make a 3-pointer in the 1st half – made two in the first four minutes of the 2nd half and opening the stanza on a 12-3 run and open up the game. From there, JU was only able to get as close as eight the rest of the way as the Eagles put on show to remain one game clear of USC Upstate and Lipscomb at the top of the ASUN standings.
 
"It was a slow start, and we did a good job of withstanding them making nine 3s in the 1st half," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "We got it going in the 2nd half. Meech was obviously terrific, but I thought Kevin was the guy who got us energized at the defensive end. That's what we really needed. After that we played a lot better, even though we didn't shoot it great from 3-point range, but our defensive field goal percentage was solid."
 
FGCU held Jacksonville – which came into the contest averaging 80.2 points per game – to a season-low point total, season-low field goal total (18) and season-low field goal percentage (32.7, 18-55).
 
J.R. Holder led the Dolphins with 21 points, while Cody Helgeland tallied 11 – nine of which came in the opening eight minutes of the contest. FGCU out-rebounded JU by 24 (50-26), with the 50 caroms representing a season high for the Eagles.
 
FGCU would finish the game at 53.3 percent (32-60) from the floor, despite going just 2-17 (11.8 percent) from 3-point range. From 2-point range, the Eagles shot an incredible 70 percent (30-43).
 
FGCU is now 69-13 (.841) at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season, including a 10-2 mark this year. In ASUN games, the Eagles are 31-4 (.886) against league foes in the regular season in that same timeframe.
 
The Eagles will remain at home when they welcome North Florida (9-15, 4-3 ASUN) on Monday, Jan. 30, for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The contest will be the second between the two sides in six days, with FGCU pulling out an 86-82 win in Jacksonville on Wednesday night. Tickets are still available and can be secured by logging on to FGCUTickets.com, by calling the Alico Arena Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 or by visiting the box office during regular business hours.

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 4th season with the Eagles in 2016-17 and has coached eight all-conference selections over his first three campaigns. Dooley guided FGCU to a 4th-straight 20-win season and 4th-consecutive postseason appearance in 2015-16 as the Eagles claimed the ASUN Tournament Championship and won their First Four NCAA Tournament game in 31-point record-setting fashion. He led FGCU to its first ASUN Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to 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 8th season overall as a head coach and has a record of 139-96 (.591), and in his 3+ years with FGCU is 82-44 (.651).
 
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.