FORT MYERS, Fla. – A big first half by graduate student Kevin Samuel and huge second half by junior Austin Richie helped propel the FGCU men's basketball team (13-8, 3-4 ASUN) to a 77-73 victory over Eastern Kentucky (10-11, 2-5 ASUN) Thursday evening at Alico Arena.

"It was certainly great to be back at home," said head coach Michael Fly. "We had some guys really step up tonight, especially defensively, where we had three-straight stops nine different times which puts you in a great position to win. EKU leads the country in three-point shooting and we held them to five made three pointers. I could not be prouder of our guys from a defensive standpoint and how they dominated the glass like as well."

Samuel (Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption Christian/TCU) and Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Bloom HS/Northern Illinois/Triton College/Tulsa) each scored 18 points in the game. Samuel scored 16 in the first half while Richie saved his damage for the second half, scoring all of his points in the final 13 minutes of the game. Junior Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) was solid in both halves, finishing the contest with 17 points. Along with his scoring, Samuel also blocked three shots on the night extending his single-season FGCU record to 60 which also moved him into a tie for ninth all-time for career swats alongside Eddie Murray (2008-13).

The Eagles dominated the glass as they out-rebounded EKU, 46-33, led by Samuel with 14 boards, picking up his ninth double-double of the season. FGCU also had 16 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points.

As a team, FGCU shot 28-of-62 from the floor, but the trio of Largie, Richie, and Samuel combined to go 20-of-32 (62.5%) from the floor.

Largie started the game with a dunk but Samuel took over after that as he scored 12 points in the first eight minutes, leading the Eagles to an early 18-8 lead.

Samuel nearly completed his double-double in the first half as he pulled down nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes as the Eagles had a 27-11 edge on the glass in the first half. The rebounding edge helped FGCU to a 36-28 lead heading into the locker room.

Eastern Kentucky came out of the break hot as the Colonels made five of their first seven shots of the half to take a 42-39 lead. Graduate student Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W. Va./Huntington HS/Duquesne/Akron) put a stop to the 12-3 run with a three-pointer from the right wing to even up the score at 42.

The game continued to go back-and-forth as Richie and graduate student Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) followed with threes of their own to put the Eagles ahead, 49-46, but EKU responded with four straight to take a one-point lead at the under-12 timeout.

The Eagles finally broke away with the score tied at 57 as they went on a 15-4 run, getting eight points from Richie and seven from Largie, including a steal and breakaway slam to put the Eagles up 72-61, forcing EKU to call a timeout with 3:16 left in the game.

After EKU scored five straight to cut the deficit back to six, Richie hit his fourth three of the game to put the Green and Blue back up by nine, 75-66, with 2:18 remaining.

The Colonels continued to fight back as they got the game back to one possession, 76-73, with under 20 seconds to go, but a free throw by redshirt-junior Franco Miller, Jr. (Freeport, Bahamas/Crestwood Prep/Ole Miss) sealed the game for the Eagles.

FGCU will return to action on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the No. 20 women's team against Bellarmine at Alico Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. for the men's game, while the women will start at 4 PM. Both games will be streamed live 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 202-140 record (.591 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.