FGCU Men's Basketball Game Notes & Information
Game 31	North Alabama (12-16, 7-8 ASUN) at FGCU (10-20, 7-8 ASUN)
Date // Time	Saturday, Feb. 29 // 1 PM
Location	Fort Myers, FL // Alico Arena
Promotions	Blue Out // Senior Day // Make-A-Wish Foundation Presentation (Halftime)
Live Statistics	Statbroadcast
Watch Online	ESPN+
Radio	94.1 FM WFSX, 1240 AM, 103.3 FM, 105.9 FM // FoxSportsFM.com
Game Notes	FGCU | ASUN | UNA
Twitter	@FGCUEagles // @FGCU_MBB
Instagram	FGCU Men's Basketball
Facebook	FGCU Men's Basketball
Directions // Tickets	Directions to the Alico Arena // Tickets // Clear Bag Policy
NCAA Weekly Whistle Series	Episode 15 (Feb. 27, 2020)

 

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FORT MYERS, FL - It's the final game of the ASUN regular-season as FGCU hosts North Alabama in a match-up of teams tied for fifth in the league standings. Only two seeds have been locked in for the ASUN Tournament with Liberty set at No. 1 and North Florida at No. 2. Today's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast on Fox Sports Radio with David Moulton calling the action.

Five seeds for the ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Championship are set to be determined Saturday. With its win at Kennesaw State on Thursday, Liberty secured at least a share of the regular season title and top seed, while North Florida will be the No. 2 seed. NJIT is locked-in to the No. 8 position. Stetson can clinch the No. 3 seed with a win over Jacksonville, while Lipscomb can secure the final home game spot with a win over Liberty.

Prior to Saturday's tip, the FGCU basketball program will honor three graduating student-athletes: senior Tracy Hector, Jr. (Riverdale, GA/Florida A&M); redshirt junior Kyle Hoffman (Lawrence, KS/Ottawa University) and redshirt sophomore Ryan Rocuant (Estero, FL/Estero HS).

The Eagles are coming off a thrilling 73-67 win over Jacksonville on Thursday night. A balanced scoring effort bolstered by a strong defensive effort was key in FGCU's eighth-straight win over the Dolphins.

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 scoring. He is now averaging 12.5 points per game overall and 14.7 points in league games which ranks eighth among the ASUN leaders.

Fellow sophomore Zach Scott (Miami, FL/Westminster Academy) is just behind Catto with 10.8 points per night. Along with junior Jalen Warren's (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) 10.5 point average, the trio accounts for over half (1,013) of the team's 1,843 points.

Warren's 112 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 (41). 

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/Cochise College) have spearheaded that effort, combining for a total of 71 blocks, the most of any duo in the conference. Individually, Rainwater ranks fourth in the ASUN with 36 blocks, while Rivers is fifth (35). Despite missing 12 games due to injury, junior Brian Thomas (Kennesaw, GA/Kell HS) is third on the team with 25 bocks overall - 20 of those have come in league action ranking fourth in the league at 1.5 per conference game.

The first meeting of the season between the two squads in Florence proved to be a close one with the Lions holding off a late FGCU surge, 70-65. Catto led the Eagles with a career-high 23 points in a game that featured 11 lead changes and 12 ties. In the end, North Alabama put together an 8-to-2 run down the stretch to pick up the win.

North Alabama the game having won two straight which snapped a five-game skid. On Thursday night, the Lions picked up a 72-65 home win over NJIT. The road has not been kind to UNA, however, as the Lions are just 3-12 this year away from Florence.

Christian Agnew leads UNA with 13 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Jamari Blackmon is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game followed by 9.6 points from Mervin James.

In Thursday night's win, five players reached double figures paced by an 18 point, 13 rebound double-double for Emanuel Littles. The game was tied 33-33 at halftime but the Lions were able to build out an eight-point lead by the first media timeout and led the rest of the way.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH ALABAMA
• Saturday will be just the sixth all-time meeting between FGCU and North Alabama which is now in its second season as a Division I program. The Lions hold a 4-1 advantage in the series after winning the earlier meeting this season on January, 70-65.

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.
 

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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

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

 
 

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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. 

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--