DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (11-8, 2-0 ASUN) continued its strong play to open ASUN Conference action as the Eagles dominated USC Upstate (5-14, 0-2 ASUN) on Thursday night at Alico Arena, 75-58, to run their winning streak to four in a row.
 
The 17-point margin of victory is deceiving as FGCU led by 27 with just over two minutes remaining before the Spartans closed on a 10-0 run against the Eagles' bench.
 
Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) scored a game-high 17 points and passed out a game-best six assists. Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) added 13 points while making exactly three 3-pointers for the eighth time this year. Ricky Doyle (Cape Coral, Fla./Michigan/Bishop Verot HS) matched a season high by tallying 11 points – including the first six of the night for the Eagles – as the Green and Blue shot 49 percent (32-65) from the floor.
 
After only two conference games, just a pair of teams remain unbeaten in league play – FGCU and Jacksonville. The Eagles have gotten there largely thanks to their re-energized defensive play as FGCU has held each of its first two opponents (Stetson, 52) below 60 points. It marks the first time since joining Division I and the ASUN in 2007-08 that FGCU has opened a league season by holding two-consecutive opponents below 60 points. Of the eight ASUN games contested this year, just three teams have been held below 60 points, and the Eagles are responsible for two of them.
 
"We really spread the floor and shared the ball tonight," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley of the Eagles' 17 assists on 32 made field goals. "But it all started on the defensive end again. We held Upstate to just 19 percent from the floor in the 1st half. Those defensive stops set the tone for us and allowed us to get out and run."
 
Get out and run is exactly what the Eagles did as FGCU finished with a 20-9 edge in fastbreak points. The 20 transition points are the second-most for the Green and Blue this year against a D-I opponent (Illinois State, 21).
 
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, and Upstate held an early 7-4 lead before the Eagles rattled off 10 in a row over a five-minute span to create a 14-7 advantage. However, that lead quickly expanded.
 
Like they did in their ASUN-opening 38-point record rout of Stetson on Saturday, FGCU utilized a big 1st-half run to put the contest out of reach early. Against the Hatters, FGCU used a 19-0 run in the opening stanza to create a 24-point lead, and opposite the Spartans the Eagles orchestrated a 14-0 stretch to forge ahead by 18 and once again – for all intents and purposes – ice the contest.
 
The Eagles entered intermission with their second-straight lead of 20 or more points to begin conference play as FGCU built a 38-17 cushion. After starting the half just 3-13 from the floor, the Green and Blue finished at a 50-percent clip (14-28) and a torrid 73-percent rate (11-15) after the slow beginning.
 
The lead ballooned to as much as 29 in the late stages of the 2nd half, despite FGCU failing to make a 3-point shot (0-7) in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles still connected at a 48.6-percent clip (18-37) in the 2nd half to start 2-0 in the ASUN for the third-straight year. In each of the previous two season the Eagles have gone on to win the ASUN Tournament and advance to March Madness.
 
FGCU leading scorer Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) took a backseat offensively as he finished with just seven points, but the point guard instead corralled a game-high nine rebounds and passed out three assists against no turnovers. Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) also finished with seven points and dished out four assists opposite no giveaways. Michael Gilmore (Jacksonville, Fla./Miami/VCU/Rickards HS) and RaySean Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) each tallied seven points as well off the bench.
 
As a team the Eagles committed just 11 turnovers – their fewest in nine games, and three of those came in the final three minutes of the contest.
 
USC Upstate was led by Avery Diggs with 12 points, while Jure Span added 11 and Malik Moore tallied 10 to round of the trio of double-figure scorers for the Spartans, who finished the night shooting just 33 percent (22-66) from the floor – the fourth-straight opponent FGCU has held below 35 percent.
 
Upstate entered the game with a league-worst -6.4 rebound margin, while FGCU came in with a +5 margin – the best in the ASUN. The Eagles took advantage of that on Thursday as they finished with a 47-34 rebounding edge, helping fuel the aforementioned transition attack.
 
With the win, FGCU secured its 200th all-time home victory (100-63). The program's first-ever home triumph took place at what is now Germain Arena, but all 199 since have occurred inside the friendly confines of Alico Arena.
 
Since 2012-13, FGCU is now 36-5 (.878) in the regular season against ASUN opponents at Alico Arena. Including ASUN Tournament games in that same stretch, the Eagles are 44-7 (.863) at home versus league foes. Overall, FGCU boasts an 84-17 record (.832) at The Nest since the 2012-13 season.
 
FGCU concludes its five-game homestand with its third ASUN contest of the year when the Eagles welcome NJIT (8-9, 1-1 ASUN) to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Highlanders defeated Upstate last Saturday to open conference play, 98-87, before falling at Stetson on Thursday night, 80-67.
 
NOTEWORTHY: FGCU now holds a 16-6 edge in the all-time series with Upstate … redshirt senior Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) did not play for the second-straight game with a foot injury … the Eagles out-scored the Spartans in the paint, 40-22 … every player who dressed and was healthy played for FGCU.
 
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 159-106 (.600), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 102-54 (.654). 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.