JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Behind a hot-shooting second half from beyond the arc, North Alabama (13-10) pulled away from the FGCU men's basketball team, 96-81, in the ASUN Championship Tournament semifinal on Friday night at UNF Arena. The Lions hit 7-of-10 triples in the second stanza (11-of-21 overall) which kept the Eagles from overcoming a four-point halftime deficit.
 
The loss ends FGCU's COVID-19 shortened season with a 10-8 overall record. The semifinal appearance marked the first time since the 2017-18 campaign when the Eagles were runner-ups and the eighth time overall since 2011-12.
 
"First, really have to give credit to Coach Pujol and North Alabama for the game they played tonight," said head coach Michael Fly. "It's really difficult to beat a team three times in one year especially the way they played offensively tonight. We threw every defense we had at them but they were able to know down shots. If you score 81 points and shoot 48 percent, normally, you would win that game. We just couldn't get stops tonight the same way were did against Lipscomb last night."
 
Four Eagles reached double-figures led by 19 from senior Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario/Eastern Florida State) and a season-high 17 points from graduate Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Austin Peay). Junior Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) notched 16 points, while sophomore Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) finished with 10 points. Abaev, Largie and freshman Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) led the squad with seven rebounds, while Anderson had nine points as well.
 
UNA was led by a game-high 26 points from Payton Youngblood who was 8-of-11 from the floor including 5-of-7 from deep – he scored 17 points in the second half helping the Lions pull away. Mervin James tallied 20 points, while Jamari Blackmon recorded 16 points. C.J. Brim rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.
 
The first half finished at a frenetic pace with both teams trading baskets and runs. The Lions took a 40-36 lead into the intermission with both teams shooting over 56 percent from the floor.
 
North Alabama opened the second half with a 13-to-6 run which stretched the lead to double-figures, 53-42, at the 15:57 mark.
 
The Eagles were able to trim the deficit to six on three occasions, but 13 straight points bolstered by three triples for the Lions re-extended the lead to 72-53.
 
FGCU managed to pull back within 12 heading into the final media timeout, but that proved as close as the Eagles could come back as UNA hit 13 free throws down the stretch to close out the win.
 
The Green and Blue finished the night shooting 48.3 percent (29-60) from the floor, while the Lions shot 54.1 percent (33-61). The Eagles did struggle from the free throw line converting just 16-of-27 and saw 15 turnovers turned into 17 UNA points.
 
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 189-134 record (.585 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 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--