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FORT MYERS, Fla. - Looking to make up ground as the race for the ASUN Tournament heats up, the FGCU basketball team heads on the road for a critical weekend starting Thursday at Kennesaw State. The game will tip at 7 PM on ESPN+ with Voice of the Eagles David Moulton also calling the action on Fox Sports Radio.
The Eagles had a tough weekend at home last week with losses to Stetson and North Florida.
Jalen Warren and
Zach Scott were bright spots offensively for the Eagles averaging 16 points and 14.5 points, respectively, in the two games. FGCU was in position to force the Stetson game into overtime on Thursday and was within four points of the Ospreys in the final 1:33 of Saturday's contest.
Following a tough non-conference slate, FGCU began to find its rhthym in the new year and the start of ASUN play. The Eagles won three of their first five including two straight at Stetson and over KSU. A tough stretch since has dropped the team into eighth-place in the standings, however, a home game for the ASUN Tournament is still in reach.
After a hot start to ASUN play, Catto has taken over as the team's leader in season scoring. He is now averaging 12.2 points per game overall and 14.6 points in league games which ranks ninth among the ASUN leaders.
Scott is just behind Catto with 11.0 points per night. Along with Warren's 10.7 points per outing, the trio's 881 combined points account for half of the team's 1,591 points.
Warren's 91 assists on the season are the second-most of any other player in the ASUN. Scott's name also pops up in the league rankings leading the ASUN in total steals (38).Â
As a team, the Eagles lead the league with an average of 4.0 blocks per game. Both freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla.) and junior
Justus Rainwater (Enumclaw, Wash.) have spearheaded that effort, combining for a total of 63 blocks, the most of any duo in the conference. Individually, Rainwater ranks fourth in the league with 34 while Rainwater ranks fifth (29).Â
Kennesaw State has lost 14 straight games and are still winless in ASUN play. Tyler Hooker leads the Owls with a 14.0 point average followed by Jamie Lewis' 10.4 points. Terrell Burden and Ugo Obineke each average just under 10 points as well to lead KSU.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NSU
• FGCU enters Thursday night with a 20-7 all-time record against Kennesaw State following a pair of wins last season. The Eagles won the earlier meeting this year 73-51 in Alico Arena thanks in part to a record-setting first half where the Eagles allowed just seven points on 1-of-25 shooting for the Owls.
• The Eagles have won 18 of the last 19 meetings with KSU and are 8-4 on the road.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. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visitingÂ
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
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BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
FGCU basketball tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now including 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.Â
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAMÂ 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.Â
Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
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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 162-105 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 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 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 women's basketball (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 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-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester 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.
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--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
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