FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind 19 points each from Austin Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Don Bosco Institute/Triton College/Tulsa) and Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne), the FGCU men's basketball team won its fifth straight game after an 82-76 decision against Kennesaw State on Wednesday night at Alico Arena. The win improved the Eagles to 18-9 overall and 8-5 in ASUN play, while the Owls fell to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in league play.
 
"There are no easy nights in this league. I thought we got off to a nice start, but it was an absolute dog fight the whole game," said head coach Michael Fly. "KSU is a really good team – they're really tough and really physical and not a team anyone wants to play down the stretch. We gutted this one out tonight and, at this time of year, sometimes that's what you have to do to win."
 
On a night where Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] was honored prior to the game's start for scoring his 1,000^th career point earlier this year, it also featured Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) reaching the milestone during the first half. The Eagles now have four players with 1,000 career points in Dunn-Martin (1,414), Matt Halvorsen (1,439), Samuel (1,127), and now Catto (1,005).
 
Richie proved a spark early for FGCU as he tied his career-high with the 19 points thanks in part to a career-best tying five three pointers. Dunn-Martin had his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 assists which tied his career-high and stands tied as the ninth-most in program history for a single-game.
 
Catto finished the night with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Samuel had 10 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots. Samuel now has 82 blocked shots this season which stands fourth all-time in program history for a career and is just three shy of surpassing Brian Thomas (84, 2017-20) for third.
 
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) provided a huge lift off the bench with 12 points thanks to three triples and added five rebounds in 15 minutes of work.
 
KSU was led by 19 points from Isaiah Reddish and 17 points from Spencer Rodgers who also had a team-best nine rebounds. Demond Robinson and Chris Youngblood also scored in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
 
FGCU built out a 32-16 lead in the first half behind three triples from Richie, two more from Catto, and eight points from Samuel with 6:15 left before halftime. An 8-to-0 run by KSU pulled the Owls within eight, 32-24, over the next three minutes, but the Eagles were able to take a 42-29 lead into the break.
 
After Kennesaw opened the second half with seven straight points, three pointers by Dunn-Martin and Richie pushed the lead back to 12, 48-36. The Owls continued to cut into the lead, but three triples by Rivers along with Richie's fifth continued to keep KSU at arm's length. Dunn-Martin went on a personal 7-to-1 run over the Owls to push the lead back to double-digits, 75-64, with 2:27 to go. Rodgers pull KSU back within four, 80-76, after a three pointer with 10 seconds remaining, but Richie hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds on the clock to give the final score.
 
The win keeps FGCU in third place in the East Division standings behind leader Liberty (18-9, 9-3) and second-place Jacksonville (17-8, 9-4). The Eagles will head back on the road Saturday with a 5 PM tip at North Florida which sit sixth in the division. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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.

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COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth FGCU men's basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. In his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 207-141 record (.585 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year in Schadrac Casimir. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).
 
#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 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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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