FORT MYERS, Fla. - After an offensive explosion in the win over Webber International last Friday, the FGCU men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday night as Georgia Southern visits Alico Arena. The non-conference finale is set for a 7 PM tip and willl be streamed live on ESPN+.
Single-game tickets, along with several mini-plan packages, are on sale now through the Alico Arena Ticket Office. Fans are encouraged to order tickets online through
www.FGCUTickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX. FGCU is using mobile ticketing this year as part of its COVID-19 protocols so please check
www.FGCUTickets.com for complete details or call the ticket office to speak with a customer service representative. Fans who order one of the four-game mini-plans that are offered, they will also receive their choice of an Eagles hat, bag, or t-shirt!
Through six games, the Eagles are led by a trio of Eagles with
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy),
Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) and
Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) all averaging double-figures. Catto leads the pack at 14.5 points per game followed by 11.8 points from Warren and 11.3 points from Largie. With the addition of grad transfer
Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Austin Peay), FGCU has been stronger on the boards this year averaging nearly 40 rebounds per game and a +5.6 advantage over its opponents. Abaev leads the team with 9.0 per game.
FGCU is well represented among the ASUN leaders early in the season. Catto's 14.5 point average ranks seventh overall, while Abaev is second in the league with 9.0 rebounds per game. Warren's 60.5 field goal percentage is second-best and
Luis Rolon (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Central Pointe Christian Academy) ranks fourth with 4.3 assists per game. Rolon and Catto rank first and third with 2.5 and 1.7 steals, respectively, while
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) 2.0 blocks also leads the ASUN as well.
Boosted by an offense that put up the fifth-most points in the program's D-I history, FGCU downed Webber International by a score of 112-39 last Friday. In addition to the ranking in the record book, the 112 points were the most that the team has scored in the
Michael Fly era. Defensively, the 39 points that the Eagles allowed are the third-lowest in the program's DI history.
Franco Miller, Jr. (Freeport, Bahamas/Ole Miss) was one of the night's highlights, as he finished with his first career double-double (12 points, 10 assists) and was just three rebounds shy of a triple double.
Dom London (Christiana, Pa./Harcum College) and Largie (14) joined the guard in the double-digits and turned in career-bests in scoring with London going for a game-high 22 points.
Tuesday's game will be the fourth time that the two teams have played in their all-time history as the series began in 2016. That year, FGCU earned an 85-82 victory in Statesboro before falling 72-59 at home the following week. The most recent meeting in 2019 saw Georiga Southern earn a 72-52 win during the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena.
Georgia Southern features four players averaging double-figure scoring led by Zack Bryant who nets 17.0 points per game. Kaden Archie is second on the team with a 13.3 point per night average along with four rebounds. Eric Boone and Elijah McCadden are averaging 11.3 and 10.1 points, respectively. The Eagles are 6-2 on the year having won three straight - a pair of wins over Carver and a 103-99 overtime victory at Florida International.
Upcoming ASUN Games:
Tuesday, Dec. 22
Alcorn St. at Liberty
- 1 PM
Jackson St. at North Alabama
- 1 PM
Mercer at Kennesaw State
- 2 PM
Georgia Southern at FGCU - 7 PM
Bellarmine at MTSU
- 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 23
Bellarmine at Miami (Ohio)
- 7 PM
Friday, Jan. 1
Liberty at Lipscomb
- 3 PM
Jacksonville at Kennesaw State
- 6 PM
Transylvania at Bellarmine
- 7 PM
UNF at Stetson
- 7 PM
North Alabama at FGCU - 7 PM
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 168-110 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--
