KENNESAW, Ga. – A tough shooting night proved too much to overcome as the FGCU men's basketball team fell 77-53 at Kennesaw State on Thursday evening at the KSU Convocation Center. The loss dropped the Eagles to 11-6 overall and 1-2 in ASUN play, while the Owls improved to 6-8 overall and 1-0 in league action.
 
The Green and Blue shot a season low 28.1 percent from the floor (16-of-57) and connected on just 6-of-27 from deep. The six made three pointers tied as the fewest in a game this season and were four fewer than the Eagles' had been averaging.
 
"First, give credit to Kennesaw for how they played tonight. They were aggressive and kept us out of rhythm," said head coach Michael Fly. "We didn't play like ourselves at all tonight and that's disappointing. We have a very quick turnaround to address that as we get ready for Liberty on Saturday."
 
FGCU was led by 15 points from Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) and nine points from Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) who had three of FGCU's six three pointers. Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] reached 1,000 points for his career though was held to just five points overall in the game. The center led the Eagles on the glass with eight boards while blocking three shots. He now has 47 for the season to move into a tie with Eric McKnight (2012-13) for fourth on the single-season top-10 chart.
 
KSU had three players in double figures led by 15 from Terrell Burden. Chris Youngblood and Alex Peterson each had 10 points. Peterson also had a double-double with a game-high 10 boards.
 
The Owls shot 49 percent (31-of-63) for the game electing to find ways to score on the inside. KSU attempted just 12 shots from beyond the arc hitting seven.
 
After a slow start to the game which saw KSU build out a 10 point lead midway through the first half, the Eagles were able to trim the deficit to five, but ended up trailing 27-20 at halftime.
 
Six points for Dunn-Martin in the opening three minutes of the second half kept the Eagles within two possessions, but a three-point play followed by a jumper from Burden quickly extended KSU's advantage back to double figures, 36-26, at the 15:10 mark.
 
A 16-to-5 run by the Owls spanning nearly five minutes was the difference maker at the midpoint of the second stanza as KSU took a 54-35 lead.
 
A quick pair of triples from Dunn-Martin and Halvorsen gave the Eagles some lift late in the half. KSU answered with a 12-to-2 run to take its largest lead of the night, 71-45, with 2:53 remaining.
 
FGCU will return home after playing the last two games on the road to host Liberty on Saturday (7 PM) as part of a doubleheader with the 23^rd-ranked women's team (4 PM). It will also be a special evening as FGCU recognizes the individual members of its inaugural Hall of Fame Class at halftime: Ben Hill Griffin III, Bill Merwin, Duane Swanson Sr., Chris Sale, and Brooke Youngquist Sweat. The game will also be the annual Laces of Love game with fans encouraged to bring shoes to donate to help area youth in need.
 
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 200-139 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 87 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 43 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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