DUNK CITY, Fla. – Behind a second-straight record-setting offensive performance, the top-seeded FGCU men's basketball team (23-10) rolled to a 95-72 ASUN Tournament semifinal victory over visiting and 5th-seeded North Florida (14-19) Thursday night at Alico Arena, advancing to the Championship Final.
 
Brandon Goodwin led a balanced FGCU attack with 18 points – one of a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Eagles – along with Zach Johnson (17), a career-high 16 from Michael Gilmore, 14 from Christian Terrell and Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) with 11 off the bench.
 
FGCU incredibly moves on to its sixth ASUN Championship Final in only seven years of Division-I postseason eligibility. The Eagles will host 2nd-seeded Lipscomb (22-9) on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Alico Arena in a game nationally televised on ESPN.
 
Tickets for FGCU's third-straight home Championship Final are currently on sale at FGCUTickets.com. A standing-room-only sellout is expected, so fans are strongly encouraged to secure their seats as soon as possible either online, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office during regular business hours.
 
The Eagles – who set program tournament records in points (96) and field-goal percentage (.597) in their quarterfinal win over USC Upstate on Monday – established more records in the semifinals with 39 made field goals (previous: 38 at North Florida in the 2016 semifinals) and 3-pointers made with 13 (previous: 11 on Monday and in the 2013 final versus Mercer).
 
FGCU finished the night shooting 55 percent from the floor (39-71) and 54 percent from 3-point range (13-24), with the baker's dozen of makes falling one shy of tying the all-time program D-I record. Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) led the charge from behind the arc with a season-high-tying five. The ASUN First Team member added six assists as the Eagles dished out a program tournament record 23 while committing single-digit turnovers for the second-straight contest (seven).
 
"We got off to a poor start defensively, but we settled down in the 2nd half," commented two-time ASUN Coach of the Year Joe Dooley. "Our shot selection and decision-making with the ball were the two biggest reasons why we won tonight. We were able to drive and kick and knock down some open 3s."
 
Both teams got off to torrid starts offensively, with the Ospreys opening up an early nine-point edge, 13-4, before the Eagles methodically chipped away. Coming out of the under-12 media timeout tied at 24-24, FGCU orchestrated an 18-3 run to create a 15-point lead, 42-27.
 
The Eagles maintained that double-figure cushion into the halftime break, 55-44, after connecting at a blistering 62-percent clip (23-37) from the floor. The 23 made field goals are the most in a 1st half in D-I program history, and the Green and Blue beat the Ospreys at their own game by connecting on eight of nine 3-point attempts.
 
After allowing 60-percent shooting (18-30) in the 1st half, the Eagles limited the Ospreys to a 37-percent rate (10-27) in the 2nd half and only 28 points, out-scoring UNF by 12 and cruising to their third-straight 15+ point victory over the Jacksonville school in ASUN Tournament play each of the past three years.
 
Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) dished out a game-high seven assists while corralling four rebounds. The four caroms gave the senior exactly 500 for his career, as Terrell becomes the first player in program history with 1,200 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists.
 
JT Escobar led UNF with 22 points, while Trip Day came off the bench to net 12 and Garrett Sams added 10 for the Ospreys, who dropped their eighth-straight contest to the Eagles.
 
Entering action on Thursday – in the previous 10 meetings between FGCU and UNF – the Eagles had outscored the Ospreys in the paint nine times and by an average of 44.4 to 26.4. That continued inside a raucous Alico on Thursday to the tune of 42-32.
 
Conversely, UNF had made more 3-pointers than FGCU in eight of the last 10 games, with one contest – last year's title game – tied. The Ospreys had made an average of 9.9 over that time, while the Eagles have converted just 4.6 per game. However, the Eagles knocked down 13 on Thursday compared with 10 for the Ospreys.
 
Jacksonville native Gilmore (Jacksonville, Fla./Miami/VCU/Rickards HS) entered Thursday with two career double-doubles – both coming this regular season against UNF – and the redshirt junior started fast again by scoring 10 of FGCU's first 22 before posting a career-best night, betting the 14-point outings he had against the Ospreys in January to go along with six rebounds.
 
NOTEWORTHY: Each of the previous three times FGCU and UNF have met in the ASUN Tournament, the Eagles have defeated the Ospreys and eventually won the championship final … FGCU used its 17th different starting lineup – one shy of being the most in the nation this year … the Eagles scored a season-high 34 points off turnovers.
 
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 10 all-conference selections in that time. He has led FGCU to 20 win seasons and postseason appearances in all five years: 2014 NIT; 2015 CIT; 2016 NCAA; 2017 NCAA; 2018 NCAA/NIT. Dooley was named the 2017 and 2018 ASUN Coach of the Year, in addition to 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 171-108 (.613), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 114-56 (.670). 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.