BUFFALO, N.Y. – A furious comeback effort to erase a 21-point second half deficit fell just short as Canisius held off the FGCU men's basketball team 97-90 on Wednesday night at the Koessler Athletic Center. The Eagles finish their non-conference schedule with a 10-4 overall record, just one win shy of matching their best non-conference record in the Division I era, while the Griffs improved to 4-9 overall.
 
Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) led all players with 30 points to go alongside seven assists and four rebounds. Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] had his third straight double-double with a season-high 20 points along with 12 rebounds. Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) added 10 points, while Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) added nine to round out FGCU's top scorers.
 
Canisius saw all five starters score in double figures led by 28 from Scott Hitchon who finished just one point shy of matching his career-best performance. He also posted a double-double with 11 boards. Jordan Henderson added 19 points and seven assists, while Xzavier Long had 16 points. Ahamadou Fofana and Armon Harried rounded out the top scorers with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
"I thought tonight was a lot like the Mercer game in the first half where we just couldn't get shots to fall," said head coach Michael Fly. "We were able to force the tempo in the second half which helped us get going, but credit Canisius for how they played tonight. Not how we wanted to end the non-conference schedule going into a long break, but we'll take some time to be with families for the holidays and then come back re-focused on starting league play to start the New Year."
 
The Eagles trailed by as many as 21 points, 51-30, with 17:06 left in the second half as the Griffs came out of the intermission on a 9-to-3 run.
 
Over the next 11 minutes, FGCU rallied by outscoring Canisius 33-to-13 to pull within one, 64-63, after a pair of Dunn-Martin free throws. In that stretch, the Eagles hit 11-of-17 from the floor including 4-of-9 from deep with Dunn-Martin and Samuel combining for 21 points. Defensively, the Green and Blue were able to force five turnovers and hold the Griffs to just 4-of-15 shooting and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
The Griffs were able to re-extend the lead to four on a Hitchon three pointer. A Samuel lay-up followed by a transition lay-up by Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) tied the game at 69 each before a pair of free throws by Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) gave FGCU a 71-69 lead with 3:03 to go. It marked the first lead for the Eagles since the 12:57 mark of the first half.
 
A Halvorsen free throw gave FGCU an 81-78 lead with 10 seconds remaining, but Akrum Ahemed drilled a three-pointer for the Griffs to tie the game. The Eagles had a chance with 4.6 seconds to go, but turned the ball over at midcourt forcing the overtime session.
 
Canisius scored the first eight points of the bonus session before Anderson and Dunn-Martin scored back-to-back buckets to pull within four, 89-85, with 46 seconds left. The Griffs hit eight of 10 free throws after that to keep the Eagles at bay.
 
The Griffs used a hot shooting first half to build out a 40-27 lead at intermission. Canisius hit 8-of-16 (50%) three pointers, while FGCU was just 3-of-13 (23.1%). Henderson had 15 points in the opening half followed by Hitchon who had 14 points. The duo connected on a combined 8-of-10 three point attempts.
 
Henderson's fifth three pointer of the opening half gave Canisius a 38-20 lead, it's largest of the game, as part of a 14-to-0 run late in the half. A lay-up by Andre Weir followed by a three pointer and two free throws from Dunn-Martin pulled FGCU back within 11 before Hitchon hit a jumper with 13 seconds remaining to give the halftime score.
 
The Eagles will have a rare extended break over the Christmas holiday with no contests until the New Year. FGCU's next game will be the ASUN opener against North Florida on Jan. 4 at Alico Arena (7 PM, ESPN+). Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased online through www.FGCUTickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX.
 
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 199-138 record (.584 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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