FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite outscoring the visiting team in the second half, the FGCU men's basketball team (3-2) dropped an 85-69 decision to FIU (5-1) on Wednesday night in Alico Arena. Junior Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) led the Eagles for the third-straight contest with 22 points, followed by sophomores Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) and Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS), who put up 12 and 10, respectively.

The loss ends what was FGCU's best start since the 2015-16 season. The Eagles still own the advantage against visiting teams (2-1), which will serve them well over the course of their upcoming home stay.  FGCU will remain at Alico Arena to take on Webber International this Friday (7 PM) and will close out the non-conference portion of its slate next Tuesday with a matchup against Georgia Southern (7 PM).

"I'm disappointed in our effort tonight to be frank," said head coach Michael Fly. "We talked about not having a let down. I don't think we had a sense of urgency tonight which is counter to how we've been playing. We're certainly frustrated by how we played but there is the positive that we have a quick turnaround with practice tomorrow and another game on Friday night."

Aside from Catto's game-opening layup, FIU led for the entirety of the first half of play. The Panthers opened up the night with a 10-0 run that was unanswered until a trip to the charity stripe by Largie.

Rivers provided some spark off the bench for the Eagles' offense, contributing a quick five points after subbing in. His effort, as well as a floater from junior Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/London Basketball Academy/Eastern Florida State), cut the lead down to single digits with 10 minutes to go, but the Panthers pulled away. Minutes later, the momentum shifted back in favor of the Eagles when a Catto three trimmed the visiting team's advantage to eight, but it was the closest they got before time expired.

The Eagles were much more selective with their shots following the break, increasing their shooting percentage from the first half's 31.4 to 53.3. FGCU also earned a second-half advantage in scoring, besting the Panthers 38-37.

In addition to their advantage in second-half scoring, the Eagles held a slight edge over the Panthers for points in the paint (38-36). Though both sides were knotted up in bench points at 23 apiece, FIU racked up 24 points off of FGCU's 20 turnovers compared to the 12 points that the home team earned off of 13 turnovers.

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. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

SUSTAINING FLIGHT 
To help offset the financial impact of COVID-19, FGCU Athletics has launched the Sustaining Flight Fundraiser. The fundraising campaign will help mitigate operational revenue loss and the additional expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19 protocols. All funds raised during the campaign will go to support areas that directly impact student-athletes. For more information, visit www.fgcuathletics.com/sustainingflight. 
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
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 167-110 record (.603 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 82 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 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--