DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (8-8) used a big run bridging both halves to turn a relatively close contest into a blowout as the Eagles snapped a four-game losing skid with a 76-42 win over Florida Memorial (7-3) Friday night at Alico Arena.
 
Zach Johnson entered the night needing 21 points to reach 1,000 for his career, and the guard finished with a game-best 19 – the third time he has paced the Eagles in scoring this year. Michael Gilmore (Jacksonville, Fla./Miami/VCU/Rickards HS) reached double-figure points for the second time in five contests as a member of the Green and Blue with 10, and Brandon Goodwin netted 11 points and secured a team-high-tying five rebounds.
 
The Eagles shot 48 percent (31-64) from the floor, connecting at a 48.5-percent clip (16-33) in the 1st half and a 48.4-percent rate (15-31) in the 2nd half. FGCU finished with a 42-12 edge in points in the paint, a 15-6 advantage in points off turnovers and a 33-14 cushion in bench points.
 
With the Eagles holding just a 25-19 lead with less than four minutes to play in the 1st half, FGCU closed the stanza on a 13-3 run to open up a 38-22 halftime edge. Eight of those baker's dozen came from Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS), who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers – including one right before the buzzer – and converted a layup during the closing stretch.
 
The run extended into the 2nd half as the Green and Blue rattled off a 17-5 stretch out of the locker room. All told, the extended 30-8 run in not even eight minutes gave the Eagles a 28-point lead, 55-27, and they led by as much as 36 late in the contest.
 
"We got off to a slow start, but I thought we took a lot of good shots – especially from 3-point range – that just didn't fall," said FGCU head coach Joe Dooley, who is now one win shy of 100 with the Eagles. "In the 2nd half, we got off to a better start and the ball didn't stick as much. Finishing with 19 assists on 31 field goals was good to see; I thought the guys really shared the ball."
 
The victory snapped not only a four-game losing streak overall for FGCU, but also a three-game home stretch of setbacks – the first time that had occurred since the 2010-11 campaign.
 
Four different FGCU players – Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS), Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS), RaySean Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) and Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) – all finished with five rebounds as the Eagles held a 44-41 edge on the glass. However, the Lions converted 16 offensive boards into a 12-9 edge in second-chance points.
 
Florida Memorial – an NAIA member located in Miami Gardens – was led by 17 points from Travis Mitchell. Davon Williams grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Roody Romain secured eight caroms for the Lions, who shot just 24.1 percent (14-58) from the floor. FMU also connected at only a 12.5-percent clip (3-24) from beyond the arc.
 
Johnson – who knocked down a season-high-tying five 3-pointers and secured game highs of five assists and three steals – will likely become just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points when FGCU hosts Florida Tech on Sunday. He would be only the third to do so as a junior, joining all-time leading scorer Bernard Thompson (1,835) and 2nd all-time leading scorer Brett Comer (1,477).
 
Despite just the 8-8 start, FGCU has had plenty of postseason success recently when getting off to average beginnings. In 2015-16, FGCU was 7-7 through 14 games (what it was this year), but went on to post a 21-14 record, claim the ASUN Tournament title and win an NCAA Tournament game. In 2013-14, the Eagles went 6-7 in the non-conference schedule before finishing 22-13 overall, winning the ASUN regular season crown and playing in the NIT.
 
The contest counted toward FGCU's overall record and statistics, but did not have any affect on the Eagles' RPI. The game served as an exhibition contest for Florida Memorial.
 
FGCU concludes its non-conference slate with Division-II Florida Tech on New Year's Eve Day at 1 p.m. from Alico Arena before beginning ASUN action against rival Stetson at The Nest on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m.
 
NOTEWORTHY: FGCU knocked down 10 3-pointers, the fifth time in the last six contests it has made double-figure trifectas after not doing that once through the first 10 games of the season … FGCU has now tied or outscored it opponent in the paint in 14 of 16 contests … Johnson, who ranks 12th in the nation in total steals, has now recorded multiple thefts in 10 games.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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COACH DOOLEY
FGCU is led by head coach Joe Dooley, who is in his 5th season with the Eagles in 2017-18 and has coached eight all-conference selections in that time. He has led FGCU to 20+ win seasons and postseason appearances in all four years: 2014 NIT; 2015 CIT; 2016 NCAA; 2017 NCAA. Dooley was named the 2017 ASUN Coach of the Year and the 2017 NABC District 3 Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a D-I program record 26 wins. In 8+ seasons overall as a head coach, Dooley has a record of 156-105 (.598), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 99-54 (.647). 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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.