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FORT MYERS, FLÂ - It's the final weekend of ASUN play as the FGCU men's basketball team starts a two-game homestand on Thursday night against Jacksonville (7 PM) before hosting North Alabama on Saturday (1 PM, Senior Day) to close out the regular season. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast on Fox Sports Radio with David Moulton calling the action.
Two game days remain in the ASUN Regular Season as no seeds have been locked up in the conference tournament. Liberty can earn at least a share of the regular-season title on Thursday with a win at Kennesaw State, while FGCU, Jacksonville and North Alabama are tied for fifth at 6-8. Lipscomb currently sits in the fourth place at 8-7 and will play only Liberty on Saturday.
The game is slated to be packed with a ton of promotions as well. Fans are encouraged to wear white to White Out Alico Arena. Prior to the tip, FGCU Athletics will recognize the Faculty and Staff MVPs of the men's basketball student-athletes. At halftime, the 2019 volleyball team will be honored as ASUN Regular-Season Champions with a banner ceremony, Wells Fargo will present a home donation and the Eagles will team up with the American Heart Association to help raise awareness on stroke prevention. The AHA will also be hosting a pregame tailgate at the Recreational Outdoor Complex adjacent to Alico Arena from 5-6:45 PM which will be open to the public. There will also be a recognition during the game of student-athletes who won major awards from the fall as well as the announcement of the new FGCU Student Government President.
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 14.6 points in league games which ranks eighth among the ASUN leaders.
Fellow sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, FL/Westminster Academy) is just behind Catto with 11.0 points per night. Along with junior
Jalen Warren's (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) 10.4 point average, the trio accounts for half of the team's 1,770 points (980).
Warren's 105 assists on the season are the second-most of any other player in the ASUN - that makes him the first FGCU 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 (40).Â
As a team, the Eagles lead the league with an average of 4.1 blocks per game. Both freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, FL/Windermere HS) and junior
Justus Rainwater (Enumclaw, WA/Enumclaw HS) have spearheaded that effort, combining for a total of 69 blocks, the most of any duo in the conference. Individually, Rivers ranks fourth in the ASUN with 35 blocks, while Rainwater ranks fifth (34). 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 fifth in the league at 1.3 per conference game.
Since the first meeting between the two teams, Jacksonville has gone 3-3 including a split last weekend with a loss to Lipscomb followed by a win over Kennesaw State. David Bell and Destin Barnes continue to lead the Dolphins in scoring at 12.1 and 11.9 points, respectively. Bell is also averaging a double-double on the year with 10.3 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. JACKSONVILLE
• Thursday's game will be the 27th meeting all-time between FGCU and Jacksonville. The Eagles hold a 15-11 record in the series having won seven consecutive meetings.Â
• In the first meeting this year, FGCU picked up a 63-61 road win thanks to a floater with three seconds remaining by
Jalen Warren alongside
Caleb Catto's third-straight 20 point performance.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 * |
26-3 |
12-2 |
|  North Florida * |
19-11 |
12-3 |
|  Stetson * |
15-14 |
9-5 |
|  Lipscomb * |
13-15 |
8-6 |
|  North Alabama * |
11-16 |
6-8 |
|  Jacksonville * |
13-16 |
6-8 |
| Â FGCUÂ * |
9-20 |
6-8 |
| Â NJITÂ * |
8-19 |
5-9 |
| Â Kennesaw State |
1-26 |
0-14 |
UPCOMING ASUN GAMES
| Thursday, Feb. 27 |
|
| Jacksonville at FGCU (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
| North Florida at Stetson (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
| Liberty at Kennesaw State (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
| NJIT at North Alabama (ESPN+) |
7 PM |
|
|
| Saturday, Feb. 29 |
|
| North Alabama at FGCU (ESPN+) |
1 PMÂ |
| NJIT at Kennesaw State (ESPN+) |
1 PM |
| Jacksonville at Stetson (ESPN+) |
1 PM |
| Liberty at Lipscomb (ESPN+) |
1 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 164-106 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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