JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As he played a major role in FGCU surviving a 68-66 road win over North Florida Thursday night, junior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) felt a number of emotions.

Blessed. Relieved. Shocked. Thrilled for his teammates.
"
Now, we're on the right side of it," Rivers said. "It felt good, extremely good."

Since Jan. 21, it had felt bad, extremely bad.

A 65-63 loss to Kennesaw State.

An 84-82 defeat to Queen's College.

A 91-87 loss to Central Arkansas after leading by 12 in the second half.

An 87-85 loss in overtime to North Alabama.

Five straight defeats, four by 10 points.

"We were so close," FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers said. "One stop here, a rebound there, taking a charge here, a dive there."

While the coach praised graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and junior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) for their leadership, he noticed all his players showing up for practice in a business-minded approach as they tried to figure out what they could do to – as Rivers said – to get on the right side of it.

All during the season, players had mentioned how their coach expressed to them the need to embrace every day – the tough practices and tough losses – as well as the big victories and winning streaks.

"You know, Florida is where there's a lot of sunshine and rainbows," Chambers said. "We had the sunshine in November and December but the storms came in January and part of February.

"But it's how you bounce back from adversity. My head wasn't down. That's why we're here – to lead, coach, teach. This is a metaphor for life. Sometimes it's very unfair. There are barriers."

Barriers to break through. As FGCU found itself in another close game with a team it had beaten by 25 just a month earlier, Rivers said he never noticed his teammates wavering.

"In every huddle, guys said, 'We're not losing this game,' " Rivers said. "Not for a minute did anyone think we were gonna lose. There was no, 'Here we go again.'"

Other things Rivers noticed.

On defense, the Eagles were in sync.

"We not only were helping each other out but helping the helpers," he said. "We communicated well but there was an intensity, a togetherness, a want. We wanted to win."

He also noticed that every FGCU player contributed.

Four of the starters scored in double figures. The fifth, Thompson, had six assists along with four points. Three reserves added 16 points off the bench.

The Eagles only made five 3-pointers but they shot over 50 percent from the field (28-of-54), had the edge in rebounds and also made eight steals.

And when North Florida went up 43-38 for the largest lead of the game, FGCU responded with an 8-0 run as Catto had a jumper, Zach Anderson a basket and two free throws and Dahmir Bishop a jumper.

"We were really in the danger zone and responded right away to stay in it," Chambers said.

After 10 lead changes, it was Rivers' turn.

But he wasn't Option 1.

That belonged to Thompson.

But as Rivers gave his teammate space while he moved behind the 3-point line, Rivers' defender moved toward Thompson.

Thompson then passed to Rivers.

"I had high confidence I'd make it but as soon as I let it go, I didn't think it would go in," he said. "It was not going in straight."

But it went straight off the backboard and into the basket with 12.9 seconds left.

In North Florida's final possession, Rivers made defensive plays that helped FGCU force three contested shots. Thompson bear-hugged the long rebound as the buzzer sounded.

"I tried to make the point guard (Jose Placer) make a decision," Rivers said. "Then I had a hand on the ball on another tip."

Chambers praised Rivers for forcing a tough shot then denying Dorian James who was coming in for a rebound.

After the game, the coach told his 6-foot-8 junior forward that he needed to play at this consistent level the rest of the season.

"His confidence should be sky-high," Chambers said.

Rivers said he and his teammates now have the confidence to turn the losing skid to a winning streak.

"I believe we just needed one," he said. "I'm excited for our team. We all made plays. We played together, trusted each other.

"Wings up."

**

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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.
 
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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 205 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.