FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a thrilling 72-70 overtime win at home against FAU on Wednesday, the FGCU men's basketball team hits the road to face VCU in Richmond, Va., on Saturday night (7 PM). The game will be televised regionally on MASN and streamed via ESPN+.
The match-up marks the first time the two teams have met since 2012 and is also the first time the Eagles have played a ranked team this year with the Rams checking in at No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
It is also the second time this season for FGCU to take on a team from the Atlantic 10. The Eagles opened the year at defending league champion Saint Louis.
In Wednesday's win at Alico Arena, junior
Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario) hit a floater in the lane just before the clock hit zero in overtime to seal a furious comeback win. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 points in the game, but used a 41-point second half to force the extra session. Warren finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points with his game-winning bucket the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter.
Four Eagles, including Warren, finished the FAU game in double figures. Freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla.) scored a season-high 13 points, while sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, Fla.) tallied 11. Sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla.) netted 10 points to round out the top scorers.
The win was much needed after a tough opening stretch to the season which saw FGCU logging the frequent flier mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, 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.
Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 15.6 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.6 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 10.2 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year, Rivers has had a breakout stretch in the last two games averaging 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior
Sam Gagliardi (Gig Harbor, Wash.) has averaged 10.5 points over the last two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.
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.
VCU is 4-0 on the year including a three-point win over North Texas, an 84-82 win over No. 23 LSU and a 93-65 win over Jacksonville State.
Marcus Santos-Silva anchors the Rams averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Marcus Evans is the team's leading scorer at 12.5 points, while De'Riante Jenkins is averaing 10.8 points.
In the win over Jacksonville State, VCU forced 21 turnovers and had six players in double-figures. The Rams shot 57.6 percent for the game and built out a 43-24 lead after the first half.
The Eagles will return home next week to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena during the Thanksgiving break. The action starts on Tuesday against Florida Tech (7 PM) before hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
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 at
www.FGCUAthletics.com.
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.
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 156-91 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 in
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).
#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.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 80 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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