NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After trailing by 14 at the intermission, the FGCU men's basketball team stormed back with a huge second half offensive performance to rally for a 77-68 win over Lipscomb on Saturday night at Allen Arena. The win improved the Eagles to 15-9 overall and 5-5 in the ASUN, while the Bisons fell to 10-15 overall and 3-7 in league play.
 
FGCU trailed 45-31 at the break, but an 18-to-4 run to start the second half sparked by a trio of Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) three pointers gave the Eagles momentum as they tied the game at 49-49. Just under seven minutes later, the Green and Blue put together a 17-to-0 run to go from trailing by 16 points at the start of the second half to leading by 16 points, 69-53, with 7:22 left in the game.

"I thought we got a little frustrated, myself included, in the first half and we weren't moving the ball like we normally do," said head coach Michael Fly. "In the locker room, we talked about focusing more on being us, defending, and rebounding. That allowed us to really get our transition play going in the second half where I thought some baskets came a little easier than in the half court sets. That really changed the flow of the game and we were able to build off that defensive effort."
 
Five players scored in double-figures for the Eagles paced by a game-high 22 points for Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) who had 11 points during the 17-0 run. He finished the game close to a triple double with seven rebounds and seven assists as well.
 
Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) netted 18 points (highlighted by hitting 10-of-13 from the free throw line), six rebounds, and three steals. Anderson finished with 11 points, while Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] and Carlos Rosario (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Redemption Prep/Pensacola College/McNeese State) each had 10 points. Samuel notched his 11^th double-double of the year with 14 rebounds and blocked three shots. Rosario's performance marked a season-high in just 15 minutes of work.
 
Lipscomb was led by Ahsan Asadullah who had 18 points and nine rebounds, though the Eagles forced him into making seven turnovers. Trae Benham scored 15 points, while Greg Jones had 14 points on the night. Asadullah was held to just five points in the second half, while Benham scored just four.
 
The Eagles finished the night hitting 25-of-60 (42%) from the floor and was 19-of-29 at the free throw line. The charity stripe was a huge benefit for FGCU as they held an 11-point advantage over Lipscomb's 8-of-14 performance. Both teams finished with eight three pointers, though Lipscomb hit six in the first half while FGCU had six in the second.
 
With the win, FGCU swept its league weekend after Thursday's win at Central Arkansas and the Eagles have won three of their last four. That moved the Green and Blue into third in the ASUN East Division standings behind Jacksonville (6-4) and first-place Liberty (7-1).
 
The Eagles will look to close out the crossover portion of their league schedule next Wednesday, Feb. 9 as North Alabama visits Alico Arena as part of a doubleheader with the No. 20 women's team. The women will tip at 5 PM, while the men's game is slated for a 7:30 PM start. Tickets are still available and both games 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 helped FGCU to a 204-141 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).
 
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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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