FORT MYERS, Fla. – A nearly 60-percent shooting effort paced the FGCU men's basketball team to an 81-72 win over North Alabama in the ASUN Championship Tournament First Round on Tuesday night in Alico Arena. The East Division third-seeded Eagles improved to 21-10 overall, while North Alabama, the sixth seed in the West Division, concluded its season at 9-12 overall.
 
FGCU will advance to the ASUN Championship Tournament Quarterfinals with the Green and Blue heading to West Division second-seed Bellarmine on Thursday night. The opening tip from Freedom Hall is set for 7 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
"That was a hard fought game; we knew they were going to make a run late in the game and just kept telling the team not to let up," said head coach Michael Fly. "We went through a little adversity which is good as UNA hit just about every shot to start the game. The most important thing was to get a tournament win under the belt. I thought the guys did a good job closing the game out and making sure we move on."
 
Overall for the game, the Eagles shot 58.5 percent (31-of-53) from the floor, while the Lions were 28-of-66 (42%) despite hitting 10 of their first 14 shots in the game.
 
Tavian Dunn-Martin, earlier in the day named the ASUN Newcomer of the Year, scored 26 points highlighted by four three pointers and an 8-of-8 performance at the free throw line. He hit back-to-back triples just before half time including on right at the buzzer which put FGCU up 45-37 at the intermission.
 
Kevin Samuel, also named the league's Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day, scored 17 points on an 8-of-8 shooting performance while pulling down 10 rebounds for his 14^th double-double of the season.
 
Both Zach Anderson and Andre Weir finished with nine points and four rebounds as both played key minutes for the Eagles. All told FGCU's bigs were 16-of-17 from the floor in the game which contributed to a 46-36 points in the paint advantage for the Eagles.
 
North Alabama was led by Daniel Ortiz who had a game-high 29 points, while C.J. Brim rounded out the top scorers with 10 points.
 
The opening minutes of the game were actually tilted in the Lions favor as they came out hitting three three-pointers in the first four minutes to take a 13-4 lead before the first media timeout.
 
FGCU recovered and eventually used an 11-to-2 run which put the Eagles ahead 32-27 at the 7:14 mark of the first half thanks in large part to six points from Weir in that stretch.
 
After a Dunn-Martin triple and an Anderson dunk extended the lead to seven points over the next three minutes, UNA then scored five straight to pull back within a possession with just over a minute remaining in the first half. After Dunn-Martin his a deep triple with 39 seconds to go, he hit his third three pointer of the opening stanza at the buzzer giving the Eagles an eight-point lead at the break.
 
FGCU opened the second half with a 16-to-2 run that built up a 22 point lead, 61-39, and stayed ahead by double figures for the next 10 minutes.
 
After UNA pulled back within eight, Dunn-Martin scored the next eight points for FGCU to build out an 81-67 advantage with 1:03 to go. Ortiz hit a triple and a lay-up in the last minute to give the final score.
 
The Eagles fell to Bellarmine, 74-63, in the regular season during cross over play. FGCU led by as many as 11 in the game, but the Knights were able to pull back ahead late in the second half for the win.
 
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 209-142 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 15 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, three ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections (Bernard Thompson, Demetris Morant, and Kevin Samuel) and two ASUN Newcomer of the Year picks (Schadrac Casimir and Tavian Dunn-Martin). 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 89 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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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