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FORT MYERS, FLÂ - With the ASUN Tournament picture quickly taking shape in the penultimate weekend of league play, the FGCU men's basketball team heads to NJIT on Saturday afternoon with both teams currently tied for seventh in the standings. The 4 PM tip-off will be streamed live on ESPN3 and broadcast back in Fort Myers on Fox Sports Radio with David Moulton calling the action.
Liberty took over sole possession of first-place in the league on Thursday night after defeating North Florida. Lipscomb, currently in fourth-place, also picked up a win as did NJIT and North Alabama. Though no seeds have been locked into place, Liberty, North Florida and Stetson have guaranteed themselves home games in the quarterfinal round.
After a hot start to ASUN play, sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, FL/Southwest Florida Christian Academy) has taken over as the team's leader in season scoring. He is now averaging 12.4 points per game overall and 14.8 points in league games which ranks seventh among the ASUN leaders.
Fellow sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, FL/Westminster Academy) is just behind Catto with 11.2 points per night. Along with junior
Jalen Warren's (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) 10.4 points per outing, the trio's 952 combined points account for half of the team's 1,715 points.
Warren's 99 assists on the season are the second-most of any other player in the ASUN - with his first assist on Saturday, he'll be the first player since 2017-18 to have 100 assists for a season. Scott's name also pops up in the league rankings leading the ASUN in total steals (39).Â
As a team, the Eagles lead the league with an average of 4.0 blocks per game. Both freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, FL/Windermere HS) and junior
Justus Rainwater (Enumclaw, WA/Cochise College) have spearheaded that effort, combining for a total of 66 blocks, the most of any duo in the conference. Individually, Rainwater ranks fourth in the league with 34 while Rivers is fifth (32). Despite missing 12 games due to injury, junior
Brian Thomas (Kennesaw, GA/Kell HS) is third on the team with 22 bocks overall - 17 of those have come in league action ranking third in the league at 1.4 per conference game.
NJIT is coming off a 78-69 win over Stetson on Thursday night with Zach Cooks scoring 25 points to lead the Highlanders. Cooks is the league's leading scorer with 19.4 points per game. The win over the Hatters snapped a five-game losing skid and tied NJIT with FGCU for seventh-place in the league standings.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NJIT
• Saturday's game will be the 11th overall meeting between FGCU and NJIT since the series began in 2016. The Highlanders have won three of the last four including the earlier meeting this year at Alico Arena. Overall, FGCU leads the series with a 6-4 record.
• In January's meeting, NJIT picked up a 56-54 road win over the Eagles despite 21 points from Catto. FGCU had a chance to force overtime but a shot by Warren with one second remaining was just off the mark.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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| ASUN MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS |
|
|
| SCHOOL |
OVERALL |
ASUN |
|  Liberty * |
25-3 |
11-2 |
|  North Florida * |
18-11 |
11-3 |
|  Stetson * |
15-13 |
9-4 |
|  Lipscomb * |
13-14 |
8-6 |
|  North Alabama * |
11-16 |
6-8 |
|  Jacksonville * |
12-16 |
5-8 |
| Â NJITÂ * |
8-18 |
5-8 |
| Â FGCUÂ * |
8-20 |
5-8 |
| Â Kennesaw State |
1-25 |
0-13 |
UPCOMING ASUN GAMES
| Saturday, Feb. 22 |
|
| FGCU at NJIT (ESPN3) |
4 PM |
| Lipscomb at North Florida (ESPN+) |
5 PM |
| Stetson at Liberty (ESPN3) |
5 PM |
| Kennesaw State at Jacksonville (ESPN+) |
6 PM |
|
|
| Thursday, Feb. 27 |
|
| NJIT at North Alabama (ESPN+) |
6 PM CT |
| North Florida at Stetson (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
| Liberty at Kennesaw State (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
| Jacksonville at FGCU (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
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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 163-106 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 81 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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