LYNCHBURG, Va. – Tavian Dunn-Martin set a new program single-game scoring record with 43 points to lead the FGCU men's basketball team to its first-ever win over Liberty, 82-72 in overtime, at Liberty Arena on Wednesday night. The win improves to the Eagles to 19-10 overall and 9-6 in ASUN play, while the Flames fell to 20-10 overall and 11-4 in league play.
 
The performance for Dunn-Martin marked the second time this season he's broken the single-game scoring record. He previously had set the mark with a 38-point effort in an overtime win over Stetson on Feb. 13. His 20.9 points per game is currently the FGCU single-season record as well, while his 584 points this season stand as the fourth-most for a season after Wednesday's performance.
 
"Tavian was obviously the story of the second half and with an elite scorer like that, you are never out of the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "But I thought tonight we also played some really good defense and did an excellent job in limiting Liberty's second chance points. Tavian will get the headlines for his performance, but really we had guys step up throughout the game and make big plays when they were needed most."
 
Dunn-Martin scored 32 points in the second half and overtime after Liberty held a 31-29 lead at halftime. The guard hit 13-of-28 from the floor for the game and was 12-of-13 from the free throw line. He added six assists and pulled down five rebounds as well. He now has seven 30-plus point games this season and is the only player over the last decade in the ASUN to have more than five.
 
Cyrus Largie finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Austin Richie scored eight including two big three-pointers in the overtime session.
 
Liberty was led by a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds from Darius McGhee. Blake Preston added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Kyle Rode scored 15.
 
The Flames led by as many as eight, 39-31, at the 16:28 mark of the second half. Dunn-Martin then went on a personal 12-to-5 run to pull FGCU back within one, 44-43. The Flames pushed the lead back to six over the next seven minutes before back-to-back threes from Dunn-Martin tied the game 56-56 with 5:21 to go.
 
He closed the half by scoring all 10 of FGCU's points including five straight to put the Eagles up 66-64 with just over a minute remaining. Liberty scored with 41 seconds on the clock to tie the game and neither team could find the game winner before the buzzer.
 
In the overtime session, an 8-to-2 run highlighted by two Richie three-pointers put FGCU in control in the first three minutes of play.
 
Free throws from Largie, Andre Weir, and Dunn-Martin pushed the lead to 80-72 before Weir sealed the win with a dunk with 13 seconds remaining.
 
The win marked FGCU's first-ever victory (1-5) over Liberty since the Flames joined the ASUN prior to the 2018-19 season. It also marked the best NET win of the year for the Eagles with Liberty holding a No. 110 ranking – the previous best was Rhode Island which currently sits No. 135.
 
With four blocked shots tonight, the Eagles also set a new single-season record for blocked shots with 144 for the year.
 
FGCU will return to action on Saturday afternoon as Jacksonville visits Alico Arena for a doubleheader with the No. 23 women's team. Tip off for the men's game is set for 1 PM, while the women will start at 4 PM. Both games, which will be Senior Day for each program, will be streamed live 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 has helped FGCU to a 207-142 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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