TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A big first half along with knocking down 12 three pointers for the night led the FGCU men's basketball team to a 69-55 win at Florida A&M on Tuesday night in the Al Lawson Center. The Eagles improved to 8-3 overall, while the Rattlers fell to 2-5 on the season.
 
The 8-3 start to the year is the best for FGCU since going 9-2 to start the 2014-15 campaign. It also tied the 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams for the third-best overall start to a season. The best start ever to a season is 14-0 by the 2003-04 squad.
 
"I'm pleased that we picked up the road win tonight. Obviously we had a strong first half in terms of shooting and moving the ball, but we struggled to hit shots in the second half at times," said head coach Michael Fly. "Tavian's numbers continue to highlight his ability to score at a high volume quickly and I thought Matt showed how he can impact a game with four three pointers in 17 minutes. We need to continue working on the turnovers as those hurt us some tonight."
 
The deep ball proved the difference maker in the game as FGCU was 12-of-32 for the night sparked by 10 in the first half compared to 1-of-12 overall for FAMU. The 10 first half triples gave the Eagles a 42-28 lead at the intermission.
 
In the opening stanza, the Green and Blue shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the floor converting 16-of-28 attempts including 10-of-19 from beyond the arc. Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) had 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first 10 minutes of play which set the tone for the night.
 
Dunn-Martin finished the night shooting 7-of-14 from the floor, including 5-of-11 from deep, while also snagging seven rebounds and handing out six assists.
 
Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) hit four three pointers to finish the night with 14 points as the only other Eagle in double figures. Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) had nine points, six rebounds and five assists, while Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) and Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] each had eight. Samuel also blocked four shots in the game.
 
FAMU had four players in double figures led by Bryce Moragne's 13 points and nine rebounds. Jalen Speer scored 12 points, while Kamron Reaves and M.J. Randolph each notched 10 points. Randolph also had eight rebounds, six steals and four assists in the game.
 
In the first half, a 9-to-2 run sparked by back-to-back Dunn-Martin triples followed by a Halvorsen three pointer put the Eagles up 29-18 with 8:29 to go. FGCU closed out the opening stanza with a 10-to-2 run taking a 42-28 lead at the intermission.
 
The Rattlers were able to cut the lead down to five, 47-42, to start the second half but a triple by Halvorsen pushed FGCU's lead back to eight. Another Halvorsen three pointer with 3:23 remaining capped a 9-to-2 run that re-extended the lead to double figures, 59-47. From there, the Eagles hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes of play to seal the win.
 
FGCU returns to action on Saturday night at Robert Morris for its second road game of the week. Tip off is slated for 7 PM with the game 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.

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 197-137 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--