FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming of Monday night's special induction ceremony for the 2012-13 Dunk City squad into the inaugural FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame, the attention turns to the court on Tuesday night as FGCU plays host to No. 25 USC and Andy Enfield. The Dunk City Reunion game will feature Enfield's first return to Alico Arena and will also mark the first time at Top 25 team has visited The Nest.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Corey Williams calling the action. It will also be available to stream online through ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
This will be just the second meeting between FGCU and USC on the hardwood. The teams played during the 2019-20 campaign where the Trojans used a late run to get past the Eagles 71-58 after FGCU trailed by just two possessions midway through the second half.
FGCU is coming off a road loss at Loyola Chicago where the Eagles cut an 18-point deficit to just four in the second half before the Ramblers pulled away late.
Tavian Dunn-Martin notched a career-high 34 points which was the most for any Eagle in their Green & Blue debut.
Through two games this season, the Eagles are averaging 85.5 points on 46.8 percent shooting overall and 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. Along with Dunn-Martin's 34 points against Loyola,
Matt Halvorsen added 14 points in his debut.
Cyrus Largie and
Franco Miller, Jr., are also averaging double figures with 10.5 and 10.0 points per night, respectively.
USC has four players averaging double figures led by Boogie Ellis's 15.5 points. Chevez Goodwin is averaging 13.5 points followed by Isaiah Mobley and Drew Peterson scoring 12.0 a night. The Trojans are averaging 82.5 points per game while holding opponents to 60.0 per night.
The Trjoans are on a two-game East Coast road trip after defeating Temple on Saturday night, 76-71, for coach Enfield's 200
th career win.
Dunn-Martin Gets Hot In Debut
• Guard
Tavian Dunn-Martin certainly made a splash in his FGCU debut on Saturday at Loyola Chicago. The 5-foot-8 guard scored a career-high 34 points which stand as the fourth-most points scored by any player in the country this season for a single-game.
• The effort also ranks as the sixth-most points for a single game overall in FGCU history and marked the second-most points in the program's Division I era. It also stood as the most points for a player in their Eagle debut.
• Dunn-Martin's nine three pointers tied the program's Division I era record. At the start of the 2nd half, he hit four straight triples which helped FGCU cut an 18 point halftime deficit to just four in the second half before the Ramblers were able to hold off the Eagles to win the game. Overall, he shot 55 percent for the game (64.3 percent from beyond the arc) connecting on 11-of-20 field goal attempts.
Rosa, Halvorsen Also Show Range
• In the season-opening win over Florida National,
Victor Rosa netted a career-high 20 points going 5-of-8 from deep.
• At Loyola Chicago,
Matt Halvorsen also made his FGCU debut as he scored 14 points on three triples. He now has 300 career triples between his time at Western Carolina and FGCU.
Welcome Back Dunk City
• On Tuesday night at halftime, FGCU will honor the 2012-13 Dunk City basketball team that became the first-ever No. 15 seed to reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
• This group of Eagles is regarded as one of the most nationally iconic programs in the history of March Madness, as FGCU captured the country's attention. Those three March games in 2013 launched FGCU into celebrity status with the program even earning an ESPY for Best Upset of the Year, which highlighted the NCAA win over second-seed Georgetown. FGCU finished the year ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll and the moniker Dunk City had been established as a household name in the basketball world.
• On Monday night, Enfield and the entire 2012-13 men's basketball team were officially enshrined into the newly formed FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame. The team was announced as part of the first class alongside Ben Hill Griffin III, Dr. William "Bill" Merwin, Chris Sale, Duane Swanson, Sr., and Brooke Youngquist Sweat. The other class members will officially be inducted during a January ceremony.
Among The ASUN's Best Defense
• Last season, FGCU led the ASUN in eight team statistical categories including blocked shots per game (4.3), defensive rebounds (27.33), steals per game (7.4), and total blocks (77). The Eagles were also second in defensive field goal percentage (42.1) and turnovers forced (14.44), while ranking third in scoring defense (69 ppg).
• While
Kevin Samuel is expected to bolster FGCU's defense with his TCU-record 206 career blocked shots, making him one of the top-10 active career players in the NCAA this season, FGCU also returns last season's top shot blocker in
Dakota Rivers.
• Rivers led the ASUN last year with 1.94 blocks per game as well as total blocks (35). He enters 2021-22 ranked fifth in career blocked shots (74) and first in career blocked shots per game (1.5).
Samuel Predicted To Make An Impact
• TCU transfer
Kevin Samuel was selected as the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and as a member of the league's preseason all-conference team.
• The 6-foot-11, 255 pound center is the third FGCU player to earn the preseason ASUN Defensive Player of the Year award and the first since Demetris Morant did so in 2016-17. Bernard Thompson earned the accolade twice in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
• At TCU, Samuel started all 95 career games of his career and set the school record for blocked shots with 206 in three years. For his career, he's averaged 8.8 points and 7.7 rebounds while leading the Big 12 in blocks twice. Among active NCAA players at the end of the 2020-21 season, his 206 career blocks were the ninth most.
• Last season, he averaged 8.8 points, third best on the team, through 26 games. His 7.8 rebounds ranked third in the Big 12, while his 1.7 blocks per game led the conference. His 62.5 field goal percentage was the best on the team as well.
Travelling Through The Portal
• With the change of transfer rules and the additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19, FGCU made recruiting transfers a high priority for this season's roster.
• In addition to Samuel, FGCU added
Tavian Dunn-Martin (Duquesne),
Matt Halvorsen (Western Carolina),
Carlos Rosario (McNeese State), and
Austin Richie (Tulsa).
• Dunn-Martin was the 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year and has played in 116 career games, while Halvorsen hit 297 career three pointers to rank 9th all-time in Southern Conference history.
• Rosario and Richie each bring a wealth of experience at the Division I level and add depth at the forward and guard positions, respectively.
Eagles Return 63% of Scoring From 2020-21
• Highlighted by returning its top two scorers in
Cyrus Largie (13.4 ppg) and
Caleb Catto (13.3 ppg), FGCU returns 63-percent of its scoring from last season.
• Among the transfers, three averaged double figures last year: Dunn-Martin (10.2 ppg), Halvorsen (12.1 ppg), and Rosario (12.0 ppg). Samuel averaged 8.8 points last season, but had his best statistical season in 2019-20 where he scored 10.0 points per game with 8.4 rebounds and a Big 12 leading 2.7 blocks per game.
Individual Tickets, Mini Plans Available
• Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10-or-more making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
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 190-135 record (.585 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 85 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 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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--
