JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kevion Nolan hit a near half-court shot at the buzzer as Jacksonville upended the FGCU men's basketball team 69-66 on Saturday night at Swisher Gymnasium. The Eagles fell to 11-5 overall and 1-1 in ASUN play, while the Dolphins improved to 9-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.
 
The game was close throughout featuring 12 ties and eight lead changes with Nolan's heave the difference maker.
 
"Credit Jacksonville as they found a way to win after a difficult period for them," said head coach Michael Fly. "We had some chances throughout the game to pull away, but weren't able to execute on the road. We'll watch the film and use this as a learning process as we prep for Kennesaw State next Thursday."
 
FGCU was led by 24 points and five assists by Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) and a double-double by Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] who had 12 points and 11 rebounds. For Dunn-Martin, it marked his ninth game this season with 20-or-more points as the ASUN's second-leading score. Samuel finished just three point shy of hitting 1,000 points for his career while recording his seventh double-double this season.
 
Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) added nine points and five rebounds in the loss.
 
JU was led by 25 points from Noland who also had five assists. Mike Marsh had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan Davis added 10 points to round out the leading scorers.
 
Overall, FGCU hit 23-of-54 field goals (42.6 percent) but were just 9-of-29 from deep. Jacksonville shot 25-of-64 for the game including 10-of-25 from deep. The Dolphins scored 12 points off 10 FGCU miscues, while the Eagles converted just three points of 10 JU turnovers.
 
Both teams traded early runs in the opening minutes of the game. The Dolphins jumped out to a 7-0 lead before FGCU scored eight straight. From there, both teams traded baskets with Jacksonville taking a 30-29 lead at the intermission.
 
In the second half, the Eagles were able to pull ahead by as much as six, 54-48, but a trio of JU three-pointers kept the Dolphins close. After Tyreese Davis hit a triple to close the deficit to one, Dunn-Martin hit a pair of free throws to make the score 60-57 with 1:44 remaining.
 
Mike Marsh converted a three-point play to tie the game, but Dunn-Martin hit a three-pointer on the other end to extend the lead to 63-60 at the 1:20 mark.
 
Nolan then hit a jumper and three-pointer to put JU up 66-63 with 16 seconds to go, but Dunn-Martin was fouled on a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession. He hit all three free throws to tie the game with nine seconds remaining.
 
Both teams called back-to-back timeouts before JU was able to inbound for the final play of the game.
 
On the inbounds play, it looked as if Jordan Davis was going to lose the ball out of bounds next to the FGCU bench as Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and Largie trapped him, but he was able to find Tyreese Davis for the outlet. He then found Nolan who collected the ball at half court before taking two dribbles to let loose the game-winning heave as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Eagles will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 13 at Kennesaw State. The game was originally slated to be played on Tuesday but was postponed due to current COVID protocols.
 
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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