LOS ANGELES – A familiar face against a fresh one. Past vs. present. In the end, though, the present won big – as the Pat Chambers era at FGCU began with a significant victory Monday night for the men's basketball program. The Eagles delivered a late-night dose of attitude for their new coach and an emphatic opening moment to the 2022-23 season, topping former FGCU coach Andy Enfield and his Southern Cal Trojans 74-61 at the Galen Center. 

FGCU junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Stetson) came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points, 13 coming in the second half. Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla.) pulled down 10 rebounds, senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Purdue) added 16 points and senior guard Dahmir Bishop (Philadelphia/Xavier/Saint Joseph) added 10.  

USC got 19 points from Boogie Ellis in the loss, the first setback for the Trojans in a season opener since 2014.

"For us as a staff, we are incredibly grateful for the players we have on this team," Chambers said. "The buy-in and commitment to one another is sensational. As long as they keep caring about one another – caring leads to trust, and trust leads to love. It's a process. We just have to keep moving in that direction." 

Enfield, who coached FGCU to its magical Sweet 16 run and the enduring Dunk City moniker in 2012-13, coached two seasons in Southwest Florida and was 41-28 on the Green and Blue sideline before making the move to USC. Before Monday night, Enfield's USC squads were 2-0 against FGCU – including a 78-61 victory over the Eagles in 2021 at Alico Arena. Enfield was inducted along with the Dunk City-era Eagles prior to that game as part of FGCU's Hall of Fame induction class. 

Playing on the road to open a season for the first time since 2019-20, the Eagles needed a bit of time early to shake any remaining jet lag against a Trojans program picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. USC rattled off a 10-1 start before FGCU delivered a 12-1 run capped by a Bishop layup with 5:16 to play that tied it 22-22. 

A 3-pointer from center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Richmond) with 2:23 to go in the half gave the Eagles a 29-28 edge – their first of the game – en route to trailing just 30-29 at the break. FGCU held Southern Cal to just one 3-pointer in 12 attempts over the first 20 minutes. USC made only 3-of-19 attempts from beyond the arc in the game, just 15.8 percent.

FGCU continued to grind on the Trojans after the break, allowing just one USC field goal in the first 4:52 of the second half to open a 37-33 edge.

A Thompson triple opened up a 10-point FGCU advantage with 10:03 to play, and senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla.) then added another trey and threw down a thunderous dunk and to cap a 15-3 run for a 55-40 FGCU lead with 8:33 remaining.

"We have seven guys that can start, and you can't start all of them," Chambers said. "The layers of guys who can play depend on who is hot and how we match up, but our identity is a team that can defend and rebound. We did both tonight, and what a powerful punch we have off the bench with Chase, (senior guard) Cyrus (Largie) and Dakota. We have to tighten up some things, and there is always improvement. But this is something to enjoy." 

FGCU's defense continued to swarm all over USC, holding the Trojans without a field goal for over eight minutes in the second half and extending its lead to 20 on a layup from Bishop with 4:01 to go. FGCU went scoreless for over three minutes in the late stages of the game as USC whittled the lead down to single digits, but the Eagles sealed the victory in the final minute at the free-throw line.

The Eagles on Wednesday night, travel 90 miles south to take on the San Diego Toreros at 10 p.m. ET on the WCC Sports Network. FGCU plays at Alico Arena for the first time this season on Sunday, Nov. 13, against Ave Maria. The home opener is FGCU's only game at home in the month of November. 

"The most important thing it to keep learning, growing, teaching," Chambers said. "How to handle success is important. Get this behind us and now face the business trip. We need to finish the trip. We will rest up, break it down and nothing changes. We all need to keep pulling in the same direction."

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 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 190 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 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at 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 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five 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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