FGCU season stats |
Drexel season stats |
Watch FGCU-Drexel |
FGCU-Northern Kentucky recap
ESTERO, Fla. – FGCU head men's basketball coach
Pat Chambers knows his Eagles can play quality basketball. Now he wants to see it in back-to-back games.
Chambers and the Green & Blue get that opportunity at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, when they take on Drexel in the semifinals of the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena. Fresh off Monday night's 82-61 victory over Northern Kentucky that improved FGCU to 3-2, Drexel (3-1) awaits after downing UT Arlington 59-38.
"There is no doubt we have some weapons and some offensive power – it's the mental toughness and mental conditioning that keeps me up at night," Chambers said after Monday's victory. "Can you do it again? Can you do it back-to-back nights? How do you respond? We responded after Tennessee, and I'm really proud of that. But can we do it (Tuesday)?"
FGCU (3-2) outscored NKU 48-30 in the second half with eight of its 12 3-pointers falling in that period. Junior guard
Chase Johnston (
Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) and senior guard
Dahmir Bishop (
Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter/Xavier/St. Joseph's) combined for 21 points in the second half with each finishing the night with 14 points.
Junior forward
Zach Anderson (
Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) had a game-high 20 points in the victory, his second 20-plus point game of the season, while 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.
Anderson is leading FGCU in scoring and rebounding through five games, averaging 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds. Johnston delivers 13.6 points per game, and Thompson adds 11.2 per outing. The Eagles have canned 55 3-pointers in that span, while opponents have made just 31.
Drexel's defense was the story in its semifinal victory, holding UT Arlington to just 25.4 percent shooting from the field – and 16.7 percent shooting in a second half that saw UT Arlington score just 13 points. Drexel, picked to finish seventh in the 13-team Colonial Athletic Conference, gets 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game from Amari Williams and 14 points per game from Coletrane Washington.
The Dragons are 2-0 against FGCU all time, with wins coming in in 2006 (73-37 in Philadelphia) and 2007 (77-58 at Alico Arena). FGCU is now 3-4 in three cumulative Gulf Coast Showcase appearances.
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.
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---