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FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a tough night offensively in a 78-48 loss at No. 19 VCU,  one of the top defenses in the Atlantic 10, the FGCU men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday night as Florida Tech visits Alico Arena. The game is set for a 7 PM tip and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The game will be a White Out with a 'FansGiving' promotion. There will also be a Food Drive by the Department of Athletics collecting non-perishable items to be donated to the FGCU Food Pantry and the Harry Chapin Food Bank as part of #FeedFGCU which helps provide resources for those in need - particularly around the holidays. This Friday, Nov. 29, FGCU will also be accepting toy donations through Dec. 21 to benefit the Golisano Children's Hospital and Toys For Tots.
The match-up with Florida Tech will be the seventh meeting all-time with the Eagles holding a 6-0 record in the series. It will also mark the beginning of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic this week with games against North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern set for Friday (7 PM), Saturday (7 PM) and Sunday (5 PM).Â
The FGCU Classic will also feature non-conference games during the Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday, Campbell will face Georgia Southern at 4:30 PM, while Saturday will see North Dakota take on Georgia Southern. North Dakota and Campbell will then play on Sunday at Noon.
In Saturday's loss at No. 19 VCU, the Rams defense was the key to the game converting 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. A 20-2 run by VCU closed out the first half. The Eagles made strides to cut into the lead in the second half, but were unable to bridge the gap.
FGCU's opening stretch of road games to begin the year has racked up the frequent flyer 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. The trip to Mercer was the shortest (510 miles), while the Eagles trip to Richmond to face VCU was 928 miles.
Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 14.0 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.7 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 9.7 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year,
Dakota Rivers had a breakout stretch in the Mercer and FAU games where he averaged 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior
Sam Gagliardi averaged 10.5 points in those 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 five 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.
Florida Tech is 2-3 on the year after wins over Johnson and Puerto Rico-Bayamon before taking a loss at Saint Leo on Saturday night.
Sesan Russell leads the Panthers with 25.0 points per game followed by 14.4 per night from Runako Ziegler. Mehil Noble rounds out the top scorers with 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per night.
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.Â
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 156-92 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 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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