FORT MYERS, Fla. – A blistering first half set the tone early as the FGCU men's basketball raced past Southeastern Louisiana 90-71 on Saturday night in Alico Arena in day two of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational. The Eagles improved to 5-2 overall and won their fourth-straight game, while the Lions fell to 3-4 overall.
 
FGCU finished the night with 15 made three pointers which stands tied as the second-most for a single game in program history and just one shy of the record set in 2005 (vs. Fairmont State) and 2018 (vs. Lipscomb). The four-game win streak is the longest since the Eagles won four consecutive in a similar span during November 2017 (11/24-29).
 
"I thought we played really, really well in the first half, but there was a stretch in the second half where we got sloppy and turned the ball over. I told the team that 29 assists on 33 makes is about as good as I've seen offensively," said head coach Michael Fly. "But, we had 20 turnovers and I'd say part of that was them and their pressure though a lot was us just being careless with the ball. Sometimes when you get up big, players have a tendency to get a little too loose. We were able to balance minutes and get guys in the game who we want to play more."
 
The 29 assists for the Eagles are the second-highest total overall in program history, but is tied as the fifth most for a single game. FGCU has had 30 assist in four other games dating back to 2003. The last time the Eagles had 29 assists was against Webber International in 2017.
 
Part of that came from Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) who had a career-high 13 assists – a total that was three shy of tying Bryan Crislip for the program record and stand tied for ninth all-time. Though the ASUN's leading scorer had just four points, he added five rebounds and two steals with just three turnovers.
 
Kevin Samuel (Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS/TCU) led the Eagles in scoring with a season-high 18 points going 9-of-10 from the field, while adding a season-high six blocked shots. Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) netted 17 points thanks to a 3-of-4 effort beyond the arc. Rounding out the top scorers were Austin Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Don Bosco Institute/Triton College/Tulsa) with 12 points and Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna Prep/Richmond) with 10 points as each also added five rebounds. Overall 10 different players scored in the game.
 
SLU was led by Gus Okafor who had a game-high 23 points bolstered by a 9-of-12 shooting effort at the free throw line. Jayln Hinton nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Eagles shot the lights out in the first half en route to taking a 59-41 lead. FGCU hit 21-of-32 field goals (65.6 percent) including 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) from deep. Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy), Largie and Richie all hit three three-pointers to help build out the lead at the intermission.
 
FGCU extended its lead to as many as 25, 74-49, on a Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) triple with 13:17 to go, but the Lions were able to trim that down to 15 late in the half. Victor Rosa (Naranjito, Puerto Rico / Central Pointe Christian Academy) hit a three-pointer with just under three minutes to go to push the lead back to 18 points to end an 18-to-8 run for SLU.
 
The Eagles will return to action on Sunday night against Purdue Fort Wayne to conclude the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational. The opening tip is set for 6 PM and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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 194-136 record (.583 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 86 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ 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. 25, 2021-22), 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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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