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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (14-7 overall, 4-4 ASUN Conference) pushed league-leading Kennesaw State to the absolute limit Saturday night before falling to the Owls 65-63 at Alico Arena. The loss snapped the Green & Blue's school-record win streak of 13 games in The Nest.
 
Senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) scored a game-high 16 points, including three clutch 3-pointers, to pace FGCU. Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) added 15 points off the bench, and junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) added 12 points. Sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) almost recorded his third double-double of the season, finishing with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Kennesaw State, which improved to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the ASUN, got 15 points from junior guard Brandon Stroud. Senior guard Terrell Burden scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and junior guard Chris Youngblood added 11 points.
 
"I thought we got better. That is one of the best teams in the league, if not the best," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "We competed after starting off a little slow, something I can't put my finger on. We got better into it in the second half, took the lead there and were on the see-saw the whole way. We will learn from the situations down toward the end that didn't go our way.
 
"If we can bottle up the last 20 minutes and slowly but surely make it 40, we will be right where we need to be come March."
 
FGCU trailed Kennesaw State 36-26 at halftime via a combination of the Owls' hot shooting and cold spells by the Green & Blue. Kennesaw State rattled off an 11-0 run midway through the period, a stretch that saw FGCU go scoreless for 6:20, to earn the 10-point advantage.
 
But that KSU lead dissolved quickly, as FGCU constructed an 11-2 scoring burst right out of intermission to get within a possession – a run that saw Thompson hit two triples, Weir throw down a monster dunk and graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) hit a third trey. Weir would throw down another dunk at the 13:48 mark to push Green & Blue to a 41-40 lead and ignite the Alico Arena faithful.
 
The final five minutes saw two 6-0 scoring bursts – one each by FGCU and Kennesaw State. The first from the Eagles featured four points from Johnston and reversed a three-point KSU lead into a 60-57 FGCU lead with 3:05 to play.
 
Kennesaw State promptly answered with their 6-0 run, as Burden hit three free throws and Stroud canned a 3 for a 63-60 edge with 1:38 remaining. But Thompson, who is among the league leaders from the free-throw line at 85.1 percent, made a pair of clutch free throws to tie it back up at 63-63 with :59 left.
 
Burden was true from the line with 32 seconds remaining to make it 65-63, and the Owls had a chance to seal it – only to miss the front end of a bonus situation with 10 seconds to go. FGCU drove the length of the floor and had two shots rattle off, the second one going out of bounds with 0.4 to play. The Eagles weren't able to get a final shot attempt off as time expired.
 
FGCU scored 16 points off turnovers, and outscored Kennesaw State's bench 20-16. The Green & Blue made 10-of-30 attempts from beyond the arc, but were outrebounded 35-29.
 
The Eagles hit the road next week, taking on Queens (N.C.) (13-8, 3-5) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., and then playing Liberty (16-5, 7-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Lynchburg, Va. Kennesaw State plays host to Austin Peay on Thursday.
 
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 203 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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