FGCU-St. Bonaventure box score | updated FGCU stats

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The FGCU men's basketball team (9-3) earned its seventh victory in eight games Friday night with a 71-58 win at the Reilly Center to snap St. Bonaventure's 11-game home win streak. Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) came off the bench for a game-high 22 points, his third 20-plus point game this season. 
 
FGCU picked up its ninth win of the season with a suffocating defense, holding the Bonnies (6-5) to 58 points and their second straight outing with less than 60 points. The Green & Blue clamped down in the second half to limit St. Bonaventure to 25 points and just one field goal in the game's final 7:15. The Bonnies shot 24 percent from the field (6-of-25) in the second period. 

All nine of the Eagles' wins this season have come when their opponent scores 65 or fewer points. FGCU shot 53.9 percent from the field and scored 40 points in the second half for the second straight game to beat a Bonnies team that was undefeated with a 5-0 mark at home in 2022-23. 
 
Johnston scored his 22 points in 22 minutes, made four of FGCUs eight 3-pointers and added four more steals to his league-best total, now at 26. Senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) dropped 12 points and dealt a team-high six assists, and sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) added 10 points.  
 
Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) and graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) each pulled down a team-high six rebounds. FGCU out-rebounded St. Bonaventure 41-28. 
 
"I am proud of Chase, because he has really been working hard and it was good to see the ball go into the basket for him," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "We needed it too. It's the time of the year when everyone is a little worn down. I'm just really proud of that gritty effort." 
 
With its first victory over St. Bonaventure, FGCU is now 5-7 all-time against all current members of the Atlantic 10. Chambers improved his record against A-10 teams 14-11 with his 199th career coaching win. 
 
St. Bonaventure led 33-31 at the break before the Eagle offense hit another gear. Anderson and Johnston each hit treys in a 12-3 FGCU scoring run for a 47-40 lead with 13:36 remaining. The Green & Blue increased that lead to 10, 57-47, via a trey by senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) with 8:16 to play.
 
The Bonnies whittled the deficit to six points at one juncture at 57-51, but scored their remaining seven points from the free throw line. The Eagles pulled away for its sixth victory away from Alico Arena this season by scoring six of the final seven points in the game.
 
"We just did a better job of maintaining our habits and discipline in the second half," Chambers said. "We did a better job securing defensive rebounds, and we managed to keep them from scoring a bunch off of our turnovers. It was a really great effort our kids put in down the stretch." 
 
Junior guard Daryl Banks III led St. Bonaventure with 18 points, and sophomore forward Chad Venning added 15. Freshman forward Yann Farell grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. 
 
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 199 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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.    
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 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 47 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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