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FORT MYERS, Fla. - After a disappointing loss on Thursday night, the FGCU men's basketball team looks to bounce back on Saturday as league-leader North Florida visits Alico Arena. The Homecoming match-up will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast on Fox Sports Radio with the opening tip set for 7 PM.
Thursday night saw the Eagles fall at home to Stetson despite some clutch shots down the stretch. FGCU overcame a nine-point deficit to pull within one in the final 31 seconds, but a pair of Hatters' free throws forced a last second three-point try to force overtime that was just off the mark at the buzzer. Sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, Fla.) led the Eagles with 16 points and seven rebounds followed by 14 points from junior
Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario). Sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla.) heated up late in the game to finish with 13 points on the strength of three three-pointers.
Following a tough non-conference slate, FGCU began to find its rhythm 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. The Eagles remain in a tie for sixth after losses at Liberty and to Stetson, however, with winnable games on the back half of the ASUN slate, FGCU can still make-up ground.
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 15.0 points in league games which ranks seventh among the ASUN leaders.
Scott is just behind Catto with 11.0 points per night. Along with Warren's 10.4 points per outing, the trio's 841 combined points account for half of the team's 1,531 points.
Warren's 87 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 (37).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 62 blocks, the most of any duo in the conference. Individually, Rainwater ranks fourth in the league with 33 while Rainwater ranks fifth (29).Â
With its recent win over NJIT, North Florida secured its spot in the 2020 ASUN Men's Basketball Championship. The Ospreys are currently tied with Liberty for the top spot in the league standings, having lost just two games to NJIT (66-78), and Lipscomb (73-85). The team enters tonight's game as the national leaders in both three-pointers per game (11.9) and three-point field goals made (297).
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH FLORIDA
• FGCU enters Saturday's game against UNF with an 18-14 record in the all-time series including this year's loss in Jacksonville nearly a month ago.
• The teams split the series last year with each team holding serve on their home courts. FGCU won in Fort Myers, 88-80, while UNF won in Jacksonville 87-66. FGCU has won nine of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2016.
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 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine 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 both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as two 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 consecutive semesters. 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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