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Game Notes: FGCU vs. Kennesaw State
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – With the program's all-time consecutive home wins streak at the 13 and counting, the FGCU men's basketball team (14-6 overall, 4-3 ASUN Conference) takes on perhaps its sternest conference opponent yet – facing visiting Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Alico Arena. The game is available to view on ESPN+.
With its 55-51 triumph Thursday against Jacksonville State, the Green & Blue broke the school record of 12 straight home wins previously held by the 2013-14 Eagles. FGCU's 13-game run is tied with the College of Charleston and Clemson for the eighth-longest active home win streak in the country. Auburn has won 28 straight at home to lead the nation.
Kennesaw State represents a real threat to halt that streak, though, as the Owls enter Saturday with an identical 14-6 overall record. But at 6-1 in the ASUN, Kennesaw State is tied with Liberty atop the conference standings.
The Owls have won four straight games, including a thrilling 82-81 overtime victory at Stetson on Wednesday night. Senior guard Terrell Burden's layup with 7.2 seconds to go in overtime completed a 10-3 rally in the final two minutes of OT. Victory No. 14 for Kennesaw State matches the program's single-season record (2016-17).
Senior forward Brandon Stroud led four double-figure Owls with 15 points against the Hatters, with Burden and junior guard Chris Youngblood each going for 14 points and senior forward Demond Robinson adding 12 points.
Youngblood scores a team-best 14.3 points per game, with Burden adding 12.1 points per outing. Stroud drags down a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game. The Owls are fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 75.2 points per game. Kennesaw State's defense is sixth in the ASUN, allowing opponents 68.9 points per outing.
FGCU snapped its two-game slide Thursday with its most impressive defensive performance of the season. The 51 points Jacksonville State mustered was the lowest point total by an FGCU opponent all season – eclipsing the 53-point total given up against Georgia Southern on Nov. 30. It was also the lowest point total by an ASUN opponent since FGCU defeated NJIT 55-39 on Feb. 22, 2020. Thursday marked the 11th time this season FGCU has limited an opponent to 61 points or less – going 9-2 in that span.
Senior forward
Dakota Rivers (
Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) recorded his 100
th career block in the win, joining Chase Fieler (134) and Demetris Morant (126) as the only Eagles to swat at least 100 shots.
Junior forward
Zach Anderson (
Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) led the Eagles with 13 points to go with eight rebounds. Senior guard
Isaiah Thompson (
Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) dropped 11 points and dealt a game-high five assists. Sophomore center
Andre Weir (
Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) narrowly missed his third double-double in four games, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
Thompson leads the Eagles at 12.9 points per game, with Anderson close behind at 12.5 points to go with a team-best 7.7 rebounds per outing. Weir has notched two double-doubles in his last four games, and is averaging 12.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing in the Green & Blue's last six games.
FGCU will be honoring the
2023 Class of the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime Saturday.
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.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH CHAMBERS
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men's basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 204 career victories in that span including four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program's best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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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