FORT MYERS, Fla. – Boosted by senior Jalen Warren's (Milton, Ontario/London Basketball Academy/Eastern Florida State) best-ever performance, the FGCU men's basketball team (9-6, 4-4 ASUN) picked up its second-consecutive win, 69-60, over North Alabama (10-6, 6-4 ASUN) on Saturday night in Alico Arena. With the victory, the Eagles handed the Lions, who entered the weekend in a three-way tie for first in the ASUN standing, their first weekend loss of the season.

"I thought tonight was a terrific college basketball game," said head coach Michael Fly. "I was proud of our guys for matching their intensity and sticking with our game plan. I know last night UNA didn't play like they are capable and we've struggled on Saturday nights. I thought tonight was like a heavyweight fight - we'd throw a punch and they would punch back. I think we're starting to get back into a rhythm and seeing our play pick back up to what it was before we had to pause at the beginning of ASUN play."

Warren, who poured in a career-high 28 points, also connected a career-best six shots from beyond the arc. Both sophomore Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) and graduate student Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Zion Lutheran HS/Eastern Florida State/Austin Peay) also finished their night in double figures chipping in 17 and 10, respectively.

FGCU's defense, as well as its free-throw shooting, kept the team competitive during the first half of play. Though the Eagles initially held the lead, UNA eventually claimed its first advantage of the weekend at 17-14 with less than 11 minutes to go. A few plays later, Abaev used a trip to the charity stripe to tie things back up at 20-20.

North Alabama then distanced itself from the home team thanks to a five-minute period that saw the Green & Blue struggle to get a field goal. Warren finally answered the visiting team's push with back-to-back treys, cutting the edge to 30-29.
Despite the Lions earning a 14-2 advantage in first-half points in the paint, the Eagles' free throws kept UNA in check, as the visiting team was only able to take a 34-31 advantage into the locker room. Overall, the Eagles' 15 made free throws from the first half alone nearly matched their season-best effort of 18 against Stetson on Jan. 29.

Warren came out of the break hot and kicked off the second half with back-to-back baskets from beyond the arc, helping the Eagles to regain the lead at 41-38. Solid defense from the Green & Blue then helped the home team hold on to the advantage. Part of that effort was headed by junior Dom London (Christiana, Pa./Octorora HS/Harcum College), who drew a key charge (one of two in the game) with just under 11 minutes to go on a UNA possession that would have tied things up.

The defensive momentum that the Eagles had going for them translated to the other end of the floor, as well. Warren and Largie combined for a four-of-four shooting spurt that put the Eagles up by eight with six minutes left in the game.

North Alabama's Payton Youngblood tested FGCU with a pair of treys, but the duo of Warren and Largie lit up the scorebook in the final minutes of play. In the last four minutes, their nine shared points put the game away for the Eagles, an effort that was capped off by yet another Warren three. His career-best sixth trey of the night put the nail in the coffin as the Green & Blue held on for the 69-60 victory.
 
The Lions received 12 points from Mervin James and a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds from Emanuel Littles.

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.

ASUN Schedule & Results
Friday, Feb. 5
Liberty 90, Lancaster Bible 49
Stetson 73, Lipscomb 68
FGCU 86, North Alabama 60
Bellarmine 71, Jacksonville 56
 
Saturday, Feb. 6
Bellarmine 63, Jacksonville 44
Lipscomb 69, Stetson 61
FGCU 69, North Alabama 60
 
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 173-114 record (.601 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).

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!
 
#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 82 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 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring 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--