FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a two-week pause due to COVID protocol, the FGCU men's basketball team (5-3, 0-1 ASUN) opened up its 2020-21 ASUN schedule with a 74-60 loss to Bellarmine (4-5, 1-2 ASUN) on Friday night at Alico Arena. Junior Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) paced the Eagles with 15 points, marking his sixth game of the season with double-figure scoring. He was joined in the effort by Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/London Basketball Academy/Eastern Florida State) who finished his night with 11.

"I thought we looked like a team that hadn't played in 14 days; that's not an excuse but certainly you could see the rhythm wasn't there for us like it was for Bellarmine," said head coach Michael Fly. "We saw some of that rhythm come back in the second half as we were able to cut the lead to 10, nearly got it back to single-digits, and started to look more like ourselves. My hope for tomorrow is that we build off tonight's second half performance."

The Knights controlled the tempo in the majority of the first half, opening the game up with a 14-2 run. FGCU had a few solid chances to get its offense going, but was unable to get any shots to fall in the opening minutes.

About halfway into the opening stanza, the momentum started to shift towards the Eagles as they were able to draw a pair of back-to-back offensive fouls thanks to sophomore Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) and Catto. The fouls were two of four turnovers that the Green & Blue forced within a three-minute span and contributed to an overall six-minute drought for Bellarmine.

Rivers also added to the home team's energy with a pair of blocks that increased his career total. The sophomore ranks seventh all-time with 54 career rejections.

With just 1:40 left on the clock, Catto finally got the home team going from beyond the arc with a trey that cut the visiting team's lead down to 35-16. A late bucket from junior Dom London (Christiana, Pa./Octorora HS/Harcum College) and a trip to the charity stripe by the visiting team made it a 39-18 game at the break.

Bellarmine began the second half with a pair of back-to-back threes from its senior CJ Fleming, to which Warren responded with a floater for FGCU's first field goal of the half. Minutes later, FGCU showed another spark when a Catto trey was followed by Largie drawing a charge on the other end of the floor. London and Warren then went on to add a pair of threes, which cut the lead down to 53-37.

The Eagles quietly chipped away at the lead as the clock wound down. A five-point spurt from freshman Zach Anderson (Orlando, Fla./Apopka HS) which included a trey and a successful trip to the charity stripe, pulled the Eagles within 12 with just six minutes to go (59-47).

At the 2:30 mark, the Eagles finally pulled themselves within 10 after an old-fashioned, three-point play from London and Catto's third three of the night. The Knights answered the push with free throws, re-extending their lead to 69-55.

While Rivers went on to notch a three of his own, the Eagles' seventh of the night, it was not enough to overtake the Knights as they used free throws down the stretch to hold on to their eventual 74-60 win.

Despite the loss, FGCU's night was highlighted by its ability to hold Bellarmine's leading scorer, Pedro Bradshaw, to just four points. The junior came into the game averaging 14.3 per outing, which ranked sixth among league members. Additionally, the Eagles' bench outscored the visiting team's 21-16.

The teams will reconvene at Alico Arena tomorrow (Jan. 16) at 7 p.m. to complete the Eagles' ASUN-opening weekend. Following the action against the Knights, FGCU will have its sights set on a road matchup against the Lipscomb Bisons (Jan. 22 & 23).

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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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 170-110 record (.603 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).
 
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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 82 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 38 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 (No. 24, 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each 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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