FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind 23 points from Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and 20 points from Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State), the FGCU men's basketball team (2-1) remained undefeated at Alico Arena to start the season with a 91-74 win over Florida National (2-9) on Saturday evening.
 
"Being 2-1 early in the year and having multiple players with double-doubles tonight were both definitely positive takeaways from the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "I had hoped to get some of the younger guys more minutes , but credit FNU for their effort. We kept our older players out there for more minutes than we wanted, but that's part of the process with growing a new group. We'll learn from the film of tonight as we always do and start prepping for Miami."
 
The Eagles will return to action next Saturday, Dec. 12 with a road trip to ACC foe Miami. The tip time has not been set at this time but the game is scheduled to be broadcast on the ACC Network.
 
Catto and Warren became the first players to each score 20-plus points in a game since Brandon Goodwin (34) and Zach Johnson (37) did so against Lipscomb on March 4, 2018.
 
Additionally, Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) posted his first career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, both personal bests, while Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Austin Peay) also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The duo became the first set of Eagles to have double-doubles in the same game since Goodwin (14 pts, 10 ast) and Christian Terrell (18 pts, 10 reb) did so on Nov. 29, 2017 against Webber International.
 
Catto added eight rebounds and hit 5-of-10 three pointers, while Warren had a team-high six assists.
 
FNU was led by a game-high 28 points from Kenneth Santos and 21 points from Jeffrey Hernandez. Jose Benitez nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 assists.
 
FGCU built out a 47-29 lead at the intermission thanks to seven three pointers and going 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. Catto got off to a fast start with 14 of his 23 coming in the opening stanza as he hit 4-of-6 from deep.
 
FNU was able to pull back in the second half whittling down a 23 point deficit to just seven with 8:34 remaining in the game. A late 12-0 run for the Conquistadors pulled the visitors back in the game. Overall in the second half, FNU hit 6-of-12 three pointers and converted 10 FGCU miscues into 15 points.
 
Coming out of the under-eight media timeout where Hernandez once against pulled FNU within seven, the Eagles got back-to-back lay-ups from Catto and Franco Miller, Jr. (Freeport, Bahamas/Ole Miss) to push the lead back to 11 with 6:41 remaining.
 
Consecutive scores by Warren late in the second half extended the lead to 15, while his lay-up with 14 seconds to go gave the final score of 91-74.
 
The 47 points in the first half for FGCU marked the most in an opening frame since scoring 52 against St. Thomas last season (12/21/19). The 91 points were also a season-high this year and the most since scoring 96 against Oral Roberts exactly two years ago to the day (12/5/2018).
 
 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 and Auction. 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.
 
In lieu of hosting the annual Night at the Nest gala this year, one of FGCU's most successful fundraising events, the department will be hosting a virtual, online auction from Monday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 4. Fans and supporters will be able to bid on exclusive memorabilia, trip packages, unique event experiences and more. 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 166-109 record (.618 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--