NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After making it a one-point game with under seven minutes to go, the FGCU men's basketball team (6-5, 1-3 ASUN) fell 71-56 at Lipscomb (10-8, 5-3 ASUN) on Saturday night at Allen Arena as the Bisons closed out the contest with an 18-to-4 run.
 
The two teams split the weekend series after the Eagles won 79-69 on Friday night. FGCU is slated for a bye weekend next week with the return to ASUN play slated for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, at Alico Arena against Stetson.
 
"Give credit to Lipscomb for their defensive play tonight and limiting our second chance points," said head coach Michael Fly. "Last night we were able to hit shots and get production from a number of players on the offensive side. I thought we worked hard to build some momentum in the second half to tie the game a few times, but in the last six or seven minutes, we just couldn't make the plays we needed when Lipscomb went on their run."
 
For the second straight game, sophomore Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) tied his career-high with 22 points to lead FGCU. Junior Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) scored 15 points, while senior Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) had 13 points. The trio accounted for all of the Eagles' scoring until a Franco Miller, Jr. (Freeport, Bahamas/Ole Miss) lay-up at the 11:51 mark of the second half.
 
Lipscomb took a 35-26 lead into intermission after closing the first half on a 7-to-0 run which included four points following an FGCU technical foul.
 
The Bisons lead hovered around nine for the bulk of the first six minutes of the second half. Largie then scored seven straight points for the Eagles as part of an 11-2 run for FGCU which tied the game 44-44 with 11:28 to go. An Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Austin Peay) jumper at the 9:19 mark tied the game again at 48 before Lipscomb was able to re-take a five point lead. A jumper by Warren and then a lay-up by Largie pulled the Eagles back within one, 53-52, with 6:41 to go.
 
From there, Lipscomb was able to score 18 straight as FGCU went 0-for-12 from the floor until Largie scored the final four points of the game in the last minute of play.
 
Parker Hazen led the Bisons with 20 points while adding six rebounds. Romeao Ferguson notched 15 points and seven rebounds, while KJ Johnson rounded out the top scorers with 13 points.
 
Overall, the Eagles shot 24-of-73 from the floor (33 percent), while Lipscomb was 21-of-46 (46 percent). The Bisons hit 23-of-34 free throw attempts compared to just 3-of-4 for FGCU.
 
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.

WEEKEND ASUN SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 22
Kennesaw State 54, North Florida 69
Stetson 62, Bellarmine 67
Jacksonville 81, North Alabama 82 (OT)
Lipscomb 69, FGCU 79

Saturday, Jan. 23
Kennesaw State 65, North Florida 68
Stetson 65, Bellarmine 76
Jacksonville 54, North Alabama 76
FGCU 56, Lipscomb 71


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 170-113 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).
 
#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 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--