FORT MYERS, Fla. – Six players scored in double figures to pace the FGCU men's basketball team to its third straight win in a 92-60 decision over North Alabama on Wednesday night at Alico Arena. The Eagles improved to 16-9 overall and 6-5 in ASUN play, while the Lions fell to 9-15 overall and 2-9 in league action.
 
"Obviously it's always nice to protect home court and to get the home win. I think North Alabama is better than the final score indicated; we got going a bit early and they just weren't making shots," said head coach Michael Fly. "It was nice, for the most part, to perform well on both ends for 40 minutes. We had a few lapses on defense and a few stagnant offensive possessions, for the most part they executed well and are really playing good defense and focusing on rebounding."
 
Tavian Dunn-Martin led all players with 18 points highlighted by four three pointers, while posting five rebounds and handing out four assists in 24 minutes. Kevin Samuel had 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds and two blocks. Matt Halvorsen and Carlos Rosario each scored 12 points, while Caleb Catto and Austin Richie notched 10 points. Cyrus Largie narrowly missed being the seventh player in double figures with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
UNA was led by 12 points from Daniel Ortiz and 10 points from Will Soucie as the only players in double figures.
 
Overall, the Eagles shot 57 percent from the field (34-of-60) with 10 three pointers and were 14-of-20 at the free throw line. FGCU also held a commanding 48-to-25 advantage on the boards which helped limit the Lions offense.
 
An early 6-0 run in the first half put the Eagles up 10, 15-5, just seven minutes into the game, while a nine-point burst built out a 13 point lead with five minutes to go. FGCU closed out the stanza with a 9-to-4 run in the final three minutes to take a 43-31 lead into the intermission.
 
The runs kept coming for the Eagles in the second half as an early 12-to-0 run started with threes from Dunn-Martin and Catto and capped by back-to-back buckets for Rosario gave FGCU a 57-36 lead at the 15:33 mark.
 
The Eagles then closed the game on a 21-to-8 run capped off by a Chance Jackson put-back with just under a minute to go for the final score.
 
The Eagles finished the divisional cross-over games with a 4-2 mark against West Division teams and will return to East Division play this Saturday as Stetson visits Alico Arena. The game is set for 4 PM as part of a doubleheader with the No. 20 women's team which will tip at 7 PM. 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 205-141 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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