FGCU season stats | FGCU-Northern Kentucky box score

ESTERO, Fla. – Few things are prettier in basketball than when a shooter is in the zone.

FGCU junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) found himself in the zone with four of the Eagles' 12 3-pointers and 14 points off the bench in an 82-61 win over Northern Kentucky on Monday night.

Johnston caught fire for the Eagles (3-2) at just the right time, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the second half as FGCU outlasted the Norse in the first round of the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase.

"We really challenged our team after Tennessee to get more connected, to dial in on the defensive end, to come every day to work and develop the habits and discipline we need to be successful," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "That is a really good team, Northern Kentucky, that played in their championship game last year – I'd say they will again this year because they are a well-coached group.

"I'm proud of our guys. I really wanted to win the second half, and obviously we did that and then some."

Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) led FGCU with 20 points, his second 20-plus point outing of the young season. Senior guard Dahmir Bishop (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter/Xavier/St. Joseph's) pumped in 14 points, and graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) each added 10 points.

The Eagles outscored Northern Kentucky 48-30 in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field with eight of their 12 treys in that period. Bishop joined Johnston with a double-figure effort, with his 11 points, in the final 20 minutes Sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) pulled down a team- and career-best 11 rebounds, with seven in the second half.

Anderson opened the long-range festivities early, erasing a four-point FGCU deficit all by himself at the 13:24 mark with trey and then making the and-1 free throw after being fouled. A trey by Catto then triggered a 10-0 run that was capped by Johnston's 25-foot 3 for a 22-18 advantage.

Nearly one-third of FGCU's 34-31 halftime lead came from 12 free throws, as the Eagles were in the bonus for almost 10 minutes. FGCU finished with a season-best .95.7 free-throw percentage, making 22 of 23 attempts.

FGCU led by three and a deep Johnston trey triggered a 10-2 FGCU flurry for a 51-42 lead. Johnston struck again a short time later, as FGCU snagged a miss and fed him again for a successful trey and a
56-46 advantage with 9:46 to play.

Johnston's sharpshooting was contagious, as senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere) hit a turnaround trey for a 63-49 lead. Thompson then canned a corner triple to make it 72-55, and Bishop hit two straight 3-pointers to extend the lead to 19 with 2:36 to go.

NKU (2-2) was led by Marques Warrick's 16 points, and Sam Vinson added 14.

FGCU will play Drexel, which downed UT Arlington 59-38 earlier Monday, in a 7:30 p.m. ET semifinal game Tuesday. Indiana State nipped East Carolina 79-75 and Kansas City outlasted Toledo 83-71 in the other first-round games Monday.

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. 
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
 
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 CHAMBERS
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men's basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 193 career victories in that span including four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program's best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.
 
#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 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 46 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.
 
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