FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kevin Samuel (Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS/TCU) posted a double-double and Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) scored 27 points as the FGCU men's basketball team defeated Purdue Fort Wayne, 85-78, on Sunday evening to close out the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational. The win was the fifth straight for the Eagles who improve to 6-2 overall matching their best start since the 2017-18 campaign. The Mastodons fell to 3-3 overall in the loss having gone 1-2 in the trip to Alico Arena.
 
"I'm really proud of how the team responded this week to win five games in seven days," said head coach Michael Fly. "Tonight, we started slowly and weren't in complete rhythm as you could see by the turnovers in the first half. We challenged them again to change the pace in the second half and I thought they did that well. Still a lot of work to do, but to get through this stretch like we have is a positive sign."
 
Dunn-Martin's 27 points marked the ASUN leading scorer's third game in the last four outings with 20-or-more points. Samuel was just shy of his season high in scoring with 16 points while adding his first double-double in a Green and Blue uniform with 13 rebounds alongside five blocks and four steals.
 
Samuel was named to the All-Tournament Team and was the Tournament MVP. Dunn-Martin and Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) also represented FGCU on the squad. Jarred Godfrey of PFW along with Lamar Norman, Jr., and Markeese Hastings of Western Michigan also earned the honors.
 
Largie finished the night with 17 points and seven rebounds as the Eagles' second leading scorer. Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) each pitched in 11 points to round out the top scorers for FGCU.
 
The Mastodons also had five players in double-figures led by Jalon Pipkins (16 points) and Ra Kpedi (15 points). Deonte Billups and Damian Chong Qui each had 14 points, while Godfrey had 13 points. Kpedi added a double-double with 12 rebounds. Godfrey had earlier scored 35 points against Western Michigan and 19 against Southeastern Louisiana.
 
For the game, both teams shot nearly identical overall from the floor with the Eagles hitting 46 percent (25-54) and the Mastodons converting 44 percent (25-57) of their shots. PFW hit 11 three pointers compared to 10 for FGCU. The charity stripe was the difference maker as FGCU converted 25-of-31 attempts, while Purdue Fort Wayne was 17-of-21.
 
Overall, the game featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties in the back-and-forth affair. The Eagles took a 34-32 lead into the break. Almost midway through the second half, FGCU was able to build the lead to double figures, but PFW twice whittled it down to five.
 
The Mastodons trailed by just two possessions with 3:53 remaining in the game, but a Dunn-Martin three pointer along with two Largie free throws in the ensuing 40 seconds gave the Eagles an 81-70 lead.
 
A lay-up and three pointer by Chong Qui followed by a Kpedi free throw cut the lead back down to five, 83-78, with 31 seconds to go, but Catto put the game away with a pair of free throws two seconds later. Each team came away with empty possessions after that and a Dunn-Martin steal with 11 seconds remaining sealed the win.
 
The Eagles will play just two games this week with a road trip to FIU on Wednesday, Dec. 1 (7 PM) followed by a home game against Dartmouth on Saturday, Dec. 4 (7 PM).
 
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 195-136 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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