FORT MYERS, Fla. – For just the second time this season, the FGCU men's basketball team will play at the friendly confines of Alico Arena as FAU visits on Wednesday night (7:30 PM). The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets are available at the box office, by calling 239-590-7145, or by visiting www.FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.
The Eagles are coming off a tough 84-68 road loss at Mercer last Friday night - a renewal of a former ASUN rivalry that last saw the two squads play in the 2014 ASUN title game.
The loss was part of a tough five-game stretch that saw FGCU fall at Dartmouth previously while traveling back-and-forth from Southwest Florida and New England before then heading to Georgia. The travel will begin to lessen a bit for the Eagles who head to VCU following Wednesday's game and then host four consecutive games as part of the Hilton Garden FGCU Classic over the Thanksgiving Break.
So far this season, FGCU has earned some frequent flyer points logging almost 3,200 miles over three road games. They have traveled to the Mid-West, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season.
After notching 18 points at Mercer, sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, Fla.) continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 16.8 points per game. Fellow sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla.) is just behind with 13.3 points per outing - also a career-best mark.
In Friday's game, both freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla.) and junior
Sam Gagliardi (Gig Harbor, Wash.) had breakout games. Rivers scored a season high 11 points, while Gagliardi drilled four three-pointers to finish with 12 points.
Of the four loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points  with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.
FAU is 2-2 on the year with wins over Flagler (92-81) and Palm Beach Atlantic (84-79). The Owls fell on the road at Miami (74-60) and Alabama (78-59).Â
In Sunday's win over Palm Beach Atlantic, FAU was led by Aleksandar Zecevic who scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench. Michael Forrest had 13 points, while Cornelius Taylor had 10. The Owls shot 44.1 percent from the floor overall and led 47-39 at halftime, while Palm Beach Atlantic shot 48.3 percent including 12-of-30 from deep for the game.
Taylor leads the Owls on the year with an 11.5 point per game average - the only FAU player in double figures this season. Karlis Silins is scoring just over nine points per game, while four other players are tied with 8.3 points.Â
The Eagles will head back to the road on Saturday with a quick trip to Richmond, Va., to take on VCU (7 PM). The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and televised regionally on MASN.
Tickets are on sale now, but limited, and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Box Office, going online to www.FGCUAthletics.com or calling 239-590-7145.
For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online atÂ
www.FGCUAthletics.com.
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BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
FGCU basketball tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now including season tickets, single game tickets and the popular mini-plan options. For more information, contact an FGCU Ticket Office representative by calling 239-590-7145, visiting Alico Arena Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or by visiting www.FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Seating locations for new ticket packages will depend on availability. Eagles Club membership may be required for certain seats, with giving levels utilized for access to better locations.
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COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth FGCU men's basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. In his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 155-91 record (.630 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year inÂ
Schadrac Casimir. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).
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#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 79 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as two of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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