FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the first time since the 2017-18 season, the FGCU men's basketball team reached the 20-win plateau as the Eagles closed the regular-season with a 76-69 win over Jacksonville on Saturday at Alico Arena. The Green and Blue improved to 20-10 overall and 10-6 in ASUN play, while Jacksonville fell to 19-9 overall and 11-5 in league play.
 
FGCU will be the East Division's No. 3 seed in the upcoming ASUN Championship Tournament and will host the West Division's No. 6 seed North Alabama on Tuesday (7 PM) at Alico Arena. The full tournament bracket was announced Saturday night and can be viewed at www.asunsports.org.
 
"I thought that was a heavyweight fight of a basketball game that was as physical as a cage match. We knew it would be like that coming into the day and I think that's a credit to our guys for having the mindset that they weren't going to be out-toughed," said head coach Michael Fly. "They weren't going to lose a game based on physicality. Jacksonville is a really good team; there's a reason they've had the year that they've had. Fortunately for us, we were able to make a few more plays down the stretch."
 
Tavian Dunn-Martin led all scorers with 18 points while adding six assists. Kevin Samuel added 12 points, eight rebounds, and five blocked shots. Caleb Catto and Matt Halvorsen each knocked down three three-pointers to finish the night with 11 and nine points, respectively.
 
The performance gave Dunn-Martin 602 points on the season which is the third-most for a single-season in program history, while his 181 assists stand as the fifth-most. Samuel's five blocked shots give him 297 for his career as looks to become the only active NCAA player to have 1,000 career points and rebounds alongside 300 blocks.
 
The 20 wins on the year marked the 10^th time since the program's first season in 2002-03 that the Eagles reached the milestone. FGCU had six consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2012-13 through 2017-18 and advanced to postseason play in each of those years.
 
Jacksonville was led by Tyreese Davis who had 16 points and Osayi Osifo who notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Marsh rounded out the top scorers with 10 points.
 
The first half saw both teams trade runs with the Eagles taking a 32-30 lead into the break after Dunn-Martin scored five straight points in the final 69 seconds of play.
 
A 9-to-3 run to start the second half built FGCU's lead to eight and the Eagles were able to extend to as many as 10, 49-39, at the 13:27 mark. The Dolphins, which entered the game tied for first in the East Division, clawed back to pull within one, 68-67, with 1:40 left in the game. Samuel hit one-of-two free throws before the Eagles were able to get a stop on the defensive end. Dunn-Martin hauled down a rebound on a missed triple and found a streaking Catto whose fastbreak dunk brought the Alico crowd to their feet. From there, the Eagles hit five free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.
 
The game was also Senior Day for the program which recognized Catto, Dunn-Martin, Halvorsen, Carlos Rosario, and Samuel in special pregame and postgame ceremonies.
 
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 208-142 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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