CONWAY, Ark. – Attitude isn't just a 40-minute thing for the FGCU men's basketball team, as the Eagles (12-3 overall, 2-0 ASUN) outlasted Central Arkansas (5-10, 0-2) 84-79 in overtime Monday night at the Farris Center. The Green & Blue went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line in overtime and forced Central Arkansas into seven misses from the floor during the extra session to seal its fifth straight victory.  
 
Graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) converted on an improbable four-point play with 13.3 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 75. Catto's triple and free throw capped a wild final 10 minutes of play that saw FGCU take a 10-point lead and surrender it less than five minutes later. The game and overtime had 13 ties and 12 lead changes.
 
The Eagles were simply too much in the five-minute overtime session. Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) twisted for a layup that marked his 1,000th career point -- one of only two field goals by either team in OT – to give FGCU an 80-77 edge.
 
The Eagles' last five overtime games have gone in their favor, including a 95-53 OT win at Central Arkansas in 2021-22. FGCU has won four straight this season after trailing at the half. 
 
"We kept a great attitude because it did not look good there toward the end," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "Caleb hit a big shot and he gets fouled, so that is a bit lucky to be honest. It was a rock fight those last four or five minutes. Nobody was giving up an inch. I'm proud of our guys and their resiliency because getting a big home win, and traveling on a quick turnaround, is tough." 
 
Catto finished with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first career double-double, the first points-assists double-double for an Eagle since Tavian Dunn-Martin's 19 points and 13 assists vs. Kennesaw State on Feb. 16, 2022. Catto hit all three of his 3-point attempts, added six rebounds, and two steals in a season-high 41 minutes. 
 
The total team effort saw four Eagles finish with double digits and seven collect four or more rebounds. Sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) was one rebound shy of a double-double with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) scored 19 points, making four of FGCU's 12 3-pointers, and snagged a game-high four steals. Johnston finished with 11 points. 
 
FGCU looked like it was going to succumb to the Bears late in regulation, trailing 75-71 and forced to foul with 18 seconds to play. Central Arkansas missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the ball back to the Eagles and set up Catto's wild four-point play. 
 
Central Arkansas turned to freshman guard VJ Reeves for a career-high 24 points and sophomore guard Camren Hunter added 15 points and six assists. Junior guard Masai Olowokere shared game-high honors with Weir with nine boards.
 
FGCU flexed some early Dunk City throwback vibes, as senior guard Dahmir Bishop (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter/Xavier/St. Joseph's) and senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) both threw down in the game's opening minutes. The Bears got treys from Olowokere and sophomore guard/forward Ibbe Klintman to grab a 25-19 lead at the 9:02 mark.  
 
A 7-0 FGCU burst that started with a Thompson triple and ended with a layup by senior guard Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) to re-take the lead, 28-27, with 5:13 remaining in the first half. Central Arkansas would end the half with an 8-2 run to take a 42-41 lead into intermission. 
 
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half with UCA at 53.1 percent and FGCU at 51.5, a sharp contrast to what would come in the second half and overtime. Scoring droughts plagued both teams in final 20 minutes and UCA scored only four points in the overtime period, two at the free-throw line.
 
The Eagles rattled off a 12-0 run to take a 69-59 lead with 6:42 remaining starting with a Rivers thunderous alley-oop and Thompson's slicing layup. Weir calmly swished a top-of-the-key three then contorted down low for a layup for seven points in the stretch.
 
Central Arkansas immediately responded, snapping off an 11-0 run and a 70-69 edge with 2:18 to play after a Hunter turnaround jumper. Weir gave the lead back to the Eagles with two free throws at 71-70, before Hunter passed to Reeves for a corner three and a 73-71 Bears lead. Two UCA free throws put the Bears up four, 75-71, with just 33 seconds left, and the Bears got the ball back eight seconds later after an FGCU turnover.
 
Bishop grabbed the rebound on the UCA free-throw miss and hit Catto with the outlet pass for his 3-pointer to set up the game-tying points.
 
FGCUs road trip continues Thursday in Clarksville, Tenn., when it plays Austin Peay at 8 p.m. ET. Central Arkansas hosts Eastern Kentucky on Thursday night. 
 
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 202 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.
 
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---