DUNK CITY, Fla. – The two-time defending ASUN champions and preseason league favorites looked every bit the part of it in the conference opener Saturday night as the FGCU men's basketball team (10-8) used a huge 1st-half run to roll to a record-setting 90-52 win over visiting Stetson (8-9) at Alico Arena.
 
The 38-point victory is the largest in program history over an ASUN member, besting the previous high of 33 set in the 2016 ASUN Tournament Semifinals at North Florida, 89-56.
 
Following a disappointing non-league slate, FGCU commenced 2018 with a bang as the Eagles used a 19-0 1st-half run and led by 29 at halftime en route to their seventh-straight ASUN-opening victory.
 
Zach Johnson led a quartet of FGCU double-figure scorers with 19 points behind a season-high-tying five 3-pointers as the Eagles knocked down a season-best 12 as a team (12-24). Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) was right behind Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) with 18 points, while Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) added 13 points with three 3-pointers and Christian Carlyle (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny HS) netted 10 points.
 
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead behind a 7-0 run to forge ahead, 11-5, and then a 6-0 spurt a few minutes later opened up their first double-figure lead of the night not even eight minutes in.
 
But the big surge came a little later as the Eagles blew the game open before halftime with the aforementioned 19-0 run in just over five minutes, advancing to a 24-point edge, 36-12, with just under six minutes remaining, and for all intents and purposes putting a cap on the game.
 
This was the fourth-straight year that FGCU opened ASUN play against Stetson, and the Eagles are now 4-0 in those contests. Two years ago in the league opener, the Green and Blue shot 71.4 percent (20-28) from the floor in the 1st half – then their highest in any opening stanza against a Division-I opponent – and led by 27 at halftime.
 
On Saturday, the Eagles connected at a 69.2-percent clip (18-26) from the floor in the 1st half and led by 29 at halftime, 52-23. The lead swelled to as much as 44 midway through the 2nd half before FGCU settled for the 38-point victory.
 
"Our defensive stops allowed us to get out and run and get into a rhythm offensively," said FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "We shared the ball; the ball moved really well. The offense obviously looks a lot better when you shoot it well, and we shot it extremely well. A lot of that comes from taking open shots and getting guys open looks. And we did a great job of doing that tonight."
 
FGCU shot a season-high 60 percent (30-50) from the floor, and connected at a season-best 90 percent (18-20) from the free-throw line. Conversely, the Eagles held the Hatters to just 31.7 percent (19-60) from the field, including only 25 percent (7-28) from 3-point range.
 
The 90 points are the most ever in an ASUN opener for the Eagles, besting an 89-point performance they posted against Stetson nearly a year to the day (Jan. 7, 2017).
 
Making the FGCU performance even more impressive was that the Eagles were shorthanded as forward Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) did not play with a foot injury. The redshirt senior is averaging 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds on the year, and had started each of the previous nine games.
 
Stetson – which was tabbed for a 6th-place finish in the league's preseason poll – was paced by Divine Myles as the do-it-all guard led the Hatters with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Luke Doyle tallied 11 points – a total matched by Abayomi Iyiola off the bench.
 
In its eight losses this year, FGCU is averaging 34.1 rebounds per game, has a -3.9 rebounding margin and is -39 in second-chance points. In their nine wins entering Saturday, the Eagles were averaging 41.4 rebounds per game, had a +11.1 rebounding margin and were +32 in second-chance points.
 
Against the Hatters, the Green and Blue finished with a +21 edge (42-21) on the glass and a 10-8 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Contributing to that rebounding edge was true freshman Brian Thomas, who played for the first time since Nov. 18 after breaking his left hand in practice. Thomas (Kennesaw, Ga./Kell HS) played 17 minutes and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, including three on the offensive end. The 6-9 forward added four points on 2-3 shooting and a block and a steal.

Combined with the #1 mid-major ranked FGCU women's basketball team's 80-40 victory over Stetson in the first game of the doubleheader Saturday, the Eagles defeated the Hatters by 78 points.
 
Since 2012-13, FGCU is now 35-5 in the regular season against ASUN opponents at Alico Arena. Including ASUN Tournament games in that same stretch, the Eagles are 43-7 at home versus league foes.
 
FGCU remains at home for an ASUN weekend slate of games next week against USC Upstate (Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.) and NJIT (Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.). The Highlanders defeated the Spartans in Newark to open league play Saturday afternoon, 98-87.
 
NOTEWORTHY: The Eagles now own an 18-7 lead in the all-time series with the Hatters, including a dominant 17-3 mark since the 2010 season … FGCU used its 12th different starting lineup – the most in the nation this year … Goodwin secured seven rebounds and passed out a team-best four assists.
 
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 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 158-106 (.598), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 101-54 (.652). 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.