FORT MYERS, FL – A balanced scoring effort alongside a strong defensive effort led the FGCU men's basketball team (10-20, 7-8 ASUN) to a 73-67 win over Jacksonville (13-17, 6-9 ASUN) on Thursday night at Alico Arena. The Eagles will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon against North Alabama (1 PM) which will also be Senior Day.
 
The win put FGCU in a tie for fifth place alongside the Lions who defeated NJIT on Thursday night. Liberty remains No. 1 in the standings. Just ahead of FGCU and UNA is Lipscomb at 8-7 in league play. The Bison will take on the Flames on Saturday afternoon for their only game of the weekend. A win for FGCU on Saturday coupled with a loss for Lipscomb would tie the two squads for the fourth seed with the tie-breaker coming down to the NCAA Net Rankings published after Saturday's game. Entering Thursday, FGCU ranked 316^th while Jacksonville was ranked 252^nd. Lipscomb holds a 276 ranking, North Alabama is ranked 293. Liberty leads the ASUN with a ranking of 50^th.
 
In Thursday night's win, FGCU was led by 15 points from sophomore Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, FL/Southwest Florida Christian Academy), while junior Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) notched 13 points alongside seven assists and five rebounds. Junior Sam Gagliardi (Gig Harbor, WA/Citrus College) was a spark plug off the bench with 12 points, including three-straight triples late in the first half. Freshman Cyrus Largie (Miramar, FL/Mater Lakes Academy) and redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy (Miramar, FL/Pembroke Pines Charter) were also big for the Eagles with nine points and eight points, respectively. The duo combined for six straight free throws in the final seconds of the game to seal the win.
 
"Any time you can get a win at home like that, it's a positive, especially this time of year. Would liked to have managed things at the end a little better, but I think the process of learning how to close games is still developing with our young team," said head coach Michael Fly. "Coach Jasick said to me after that the game that he thought we just played tougher tonight – coming from someone like him whom I really respect and who has built his program on toughness, that meant a lot to me. We challenged the guys at halftime to defend at a high level in the second half which I think they really took to heart."
 
Jacksonville was led by Mo Arnold who had a game-high 18 points while David Bell and Diante Wood each added 10 points. Arnold also led the game with 10 rebounds.
 
The nip-and-tuck first half saw Jacksonville able to take a 34-28 lead at the 3:40 mark, but Gagliardi's three triples and free throw from sophomore Zach Scott (Miami, FL/Westminster Academy) free throw with six seconds to go sent the teams into intermission tied 38 each.
 
In the second half, Warren scored on a floater just over a minute into play and the Eagles never trailed. FGCU went ahead three times by nine points including with 2:07 remaining after a Catto lay-up on a fast break.
 
The Dolphins, however, scored six straight to pull within two, 67-65. Hardy hit two free throws to push the advantage back to four, but Wood was able to snag an off-the-mark three pointer for a midair lay-in with 9.6 seconds to go.
 
A pair of Largie free throws followed by a Hardy steal and two more free throws with 2.8 seconds on the clock closed the game for the Eagles.
 
Both teams hit 26 field goals in the game with FGCU going 9-of-30 from deep, while Jacksonville was 5-of-13. The Dolphins committed 16 turnovers, including 10 in the second half, which led to 20 points for the Eagles. FGCU finished the night with just 11 turnovers which led to seven points. After the game featured eight ties and eight lead changes in the first half, the second half saw the score tied just once.
 
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.


   

ASUN MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
SCHOOL	OVERALL	ASUN
Liberty *	27-3	13-2
North Florida *	20-11	13-3
Stetson *	15-15	9-6
Lipscomb *	13-15	8-7
North Alabama *	12-16	7-8
FGCU *	10-20	7-8
Jacksonville *	13-17	6-9
NJIT *	8-20	5-10
Kennesaw State	1-27	0-15

THURSDAY'S ASUN GAMES

Jacksonville 67, FGCU 73
North Florida 85, Stetson 72
Liberty 76, Kennesaw State 52
NJIT 65, North Alabama 72
UPCOMING ASUN GAMES
Saturday, Feb. 29
North Alabama at FGCU (ESPN+)	1 PM
NJIT at Kennesaw State (ESPN+)	1 PM
Jacksonville at Stetson (ESPN+)	1 PM
Liberty at Lipscomb (ESPN+)	1 PM

 
 
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. 

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 165-106 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 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 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--