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Season Stats: FGCU | FIU

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (6-2) returns to Alico Arena for the first time since Nov. 13 when the Eagles take on FIU Sunday night . FGCU played seven of its eight games in November away from The Nest while FIU (4-3) hits the road for only the second time this season. Tipoff for the "White Out" game is set for 6 p.m. and with the broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Wednesday night's 70-53 victory at Georgia Southern gave FGCU its sixth win of the season, and in all six, the Eagles have held their opponents to 61 points or less. The Panthers come to Alico Arena averaging 81.7 points per game with a point production ranked 41st nationally and a bench that contributes an average of 32.1 points per contest, good for 27th in Division I. FIU is shooting at a 50.6 percent clip, just outside the top 10 nationally at No. 12.
 
The Panthers' leading scorer is Denver Jones, a sophomore guard who accounts for 19.7 points per game, 33rd in the country, and a 61.2 field goal percentage, ranked 44th. Freshman guard Arturo Dean scores 13.7 points off the bench, and Dean, Jones, graduate forward Nick Guadarrama, and junior guard Javaunte Hawkins are all ranked in C-USA's top 15 for their steals averages. Dean's 2.43 is at the top of the league and 26th-best in the nation while FIU averages 10.1 steals per game, currently ranked 16th.
 
With the Panthers' proficiency in stealing the ball, the Eagles hope to continue to keep their turnover totals low. With just 11.2 per game, FGCU is 46th nationally.
 
The last five meetings between FGCU and FIU have gone in the Panthers' favor with FIU holding a 9-5 series lead. The Panthers have not scored less than 70 points vs. the Eagles since the last FGCU win, an FGCU 82-63 victory on Dec. 11, 2016, at Alico Arena. 
 
Four Eagles reached double figures in Wednesday's win as FGCU scored 42 points in the second half to secure the win.
 
Senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) had a game-high 17 points, his sixth game this season with 10+ points. Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) had 11 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) totaled 13 points, and senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) contributed eight of his 10 points in the second half. 
 
The FGCU women's basketball team, which plays Ave Maria at home at 3 p.m. Sunday, will be presented with rings at halftime of the men's game to commemorate their 2021-22 ASUN Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
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 196 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 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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