KENNESAW, Ga. – The FGCU men's basketball team (14-8, 5-0 ASUN) won its seventh-straight game and remained in sole possession of 1st place in the conference behind a strong defensive effort in a 66-49 win at Kennesaw State (5-15, 1-4 ASUN) Saturday afternoon.
 
The backcourt duo of Brandon Goodwin and Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) combined to score 35 (18 for Goodwin, 17 for Johnson), while Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) tallied nine points and true freshman Brian Thomas came off the bench and had a brilliant homecoming.
 
A native of Kennesaw and product of Kell High School, Thomas scored a career-high nine points to go along with a career-high-tying eight rebounds in only his seventh collegiate game after missing most of the fall semester with an injury.
 
FGCU entered the contest as the best defensive team in the conference, and lived up to that as the Eagles held their fourth ASUN opponent in five games under 60 points, limiting the Owls to just 32-percent shooting (16-50) from the floor.
 
That performance produced FGCU's ninth-straight road ASUN victory as the Eagles haven't lost to a league opponent away from home since the 2015-16 season. It also extended what is now tied for the 10th-longest winning streak in the nation as this stretch for the Eagles is only bettered in the Division-I history of the program only by a 10-game run during the 2014-15 season.
 
The Eagles remain atop the ASUN standings with the only unblemished mark in conference play, one game clear of Jacksonville (4-1) and two games ahead of 3rd-place North Florida (3-2).
 
Despite having won three of the last five ASUN championships, including each of the last two, this is FGCU's first-ever 5-0 start to an ASUN slate, besting the previous mark of 4-0 in 2015-16.
 
The victory extended FGCU's impressive winning streak over Kennesaw State to 15 in a row – easily the longest streak by a current ASUN team over another current league member.
 
"We put together one of our best defensive efforts of the year, and we really needed it because we didn't play great on offensive," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley as the Eagles' 66 points are their fewest in a win this year against a D-I opponent. "But any time you can go on the road and hold a team under 50 points you've done a great job. We still need to clean up our turnovers and make better decisions when we have a lead, but I'm proud of our fight this weekend to pick up two road wins."
 
After a slow offensive start, FGCU trailed 16-12 with under eight minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Spearheaded by a Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) 3-pointer at the 7:55 mark, the Eagles went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to create a 26-18 lead. That advantage grew to as much as 10 before the Green and Blue settled for a 32-24 halftime lead.
 
It marked the fourth time in five ASUN games that FGCU – which allows a league-low 69.9 points per game – held an opponent under 30 points in the 1st half. The Eagles limited KSU to just 33.3-percent shooting (8-24) from the floor while connecting at a 43.3-percent clip (13-30) themselves in the opening frame.
 
The Eagles methodically built up their lead in the 2nd half, putting together a 10-2 run from the 15-minute mark to the 10-minute mark to turn a nine-point advantage into a 17-point cushion, 49-32, and that margin was effectively intact the rest of the game.
 
FGCU held a dominant 41-29 rebounding edge, and doubled-up the Owls in the paint, 40-20 – the 19th opponent through 22 games the Eagles have out-scored in the paint, including all five ASUN foes.
 
Nick Masterson and Tyler Hooker led KSU with 11 points each – the only two Owls' players to reach double figures. The Eagles locked in on the perimeter as well as they held Kennesaw State to just 3-11 from 3-point range (27.3 percent).
 
Goodwin – who leads FGCU in scoring, rebounding and assists – surpassed the 1,000-career point mark with the Eagles. The redshirt junior now has 1,013 points in only 56 games with the Green and Blue, and combined with his first two years at UCF has 1,403 for his entire career.
 
Making the performance even more impressive for the Eagles is that they only had 10 available scholarship players as RaySean Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) and Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Shiloh HS/Believe Prep/Indian Land HS) did not play due to concussion symptoms.
 
FGCU will head back to campus on Sunday only to hit the road again on Tuesday as it travels to Jacksonville to face North Florida (9-13, 3-2 ASUN) on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.
 
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 162-106 (.604), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 105-54 (.660). 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.