FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite four Eagles finishing the night in the double-digits, the FGCU men's basketball team (5-4, 0-2 ASUN) dropped its second game to Bellarmine (5-5, 2-2 ASUN) on Saturday night in Alico Arena, falling 80-63. Senior Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/London Basketball Academy/Eastern Florida State) turned in a team-high 13 points and was followed by junior Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and sophomore Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy), who tallied 12 apiece. Freshman Luis Rolon (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Central Pointe Christian Academy) finished with a career-high 11 to round out the top scorers and additionally racked up seven assists.

"Last night we played like ourselves in the second half; tonight we did so in the first half but struggled in the second. Obviously we had a two point lead at half time and it felt like we had some momentum," said head coach Michael Fly. "In the second half, we could not get stops on defense and that was compounded by not being able to score. Either one of those makes it tough to win. I told our guys the league is still wide open and we can bounce back; we're going to stay together, we're going to get back to work on Monday, and we're going to do everything in our power to be 2-2 this time next week.

The opening half was competitive for both teams, as there were three lead changes and as many ties. While the Knights had the first few buckets of the game, the Eagles kept their offense in check and limited their largest first-half lead to just four points.

After about 10 minutes of back-and-forth basketball, FGCU started to distance itself from Bellarmine thanks to a 7-of-7 shooting spurt. A steal by sophomore Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) steal led to a Catto trey that kicked off the outburst, which included a 6-0 scoring run by the Green & Blue that extended the team's lead to as much as eight.

Bellarmine attempted to claw its way back and with just 0:46 on the clock, a steal of their own threatened to tie up the game. That effort was stopped by Catto, who stifled Ethan Claycomb's fast break with a block and then found Warren for FGCU's final bucket of the half. A last-minute jumper for the Knights cut into FGCU's lead, sending the teams into the break at 38-36.

The visiting team kicked off the second half with renewed energy, using a quick pair of field goals to regain the lead. Warren's second three of the game kept the Eagles in it initially, but the nearly four-minute scoring drought that followed allowed Bellarmine to build upon its edge.

With less than eight minutes on the clock, FGCU trimmed the Knights' advantage down to two (58-56) thanks to a Warren steal that facilitated a fast break layup for Largie. The visiting team responded to the push with back-to-back baskets, forcing the Eagles to take a timeout.

Bellarmine controlled the game following the pause, initially coming out of the timeout with a 9-0 run. While FGCU had some solid looks at the basket, the scoring went cold as the Eagles suffered another offensive drought.

A last-minute jumper for Warren ended the freeze, but Bellarmine ultimately held on for its 80-63 victory. While the visiting team barely eked out an overall advantage in both rebounds (32-30) and fast break points (15-13), the Knights did hold a decisive margin in bench points (23-13) and points in the paint (32-20).

With the series against Bellarmine in the books, FGCU now has its sights set on next weekend's road matchup against Lipscomb (Jan. 22 & 23). Both games are set for an 8 p.m. EST tip-off at Allen Arena and will be streamed on ESPN +. The Bisons (9-7, 4-2 ASUN) split their series with UNF this weekend, earning the win Friday night (84-72) before dropping a 72-67 decision on Saturday.  

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 170-111 record (.604 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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