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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (16-11 overall, 6-8 ASUN Conference) took another huge step forward toward an ASUN Tournament berth Saturday, reeling off a game-ending 12-point run to clinch a 62-51 road victory against Jacksonville at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
The win vaulted the Green & Blue into a tie for eighth with Queens (N.C.) and North Florida in the conference standings. It also clinched a season sweep against the Dolphins (12-13, 5-9), and put valuable distance away from being one of the teams outside the 10-team ASUN Tournament bubble. FGCU had roared back from an 18-point second-half deficit to upend Jacksonville 72-65 on New Year's Eve.
 
Jacksonville's 51 points ties for the lowest by an FGCU opponent in the 2022-23 season (Jacksonville State fell to FGCU 55-51 on Jan. 19). The Green & Blue limited Jacksonville to just 34.2 percent shooting in the second half, and held the Dolphins – who lost their fourth straight – to just 2-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
"When you are struggling to score, you usually get deflated. We missed some layups and some open dunks, but that didn't affect our attitude and our defense, and didn't affect our connectivity," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "That's what got us out of there with a road win."
 
Junior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) led all scorers with 20 points – his fifth 20-point effort in the Eagles' last six games. Thompson, who entered the game fifth in the ASUN with an 84.6 free-throw percentage, was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.
 
Sophomore forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, tying for the team lead in boards with graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy). Sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) added 10 points.
 
But there were two FGCU players who weren't top-line standouts Saturday making huge differences down the stretch. Saddled with four fouls for much of the second half, junior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) threw down a huge alley-oop dunk and made a clutch 3-pointer in the game's final four minutes. And junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson), who was relatively quiet on the offensive end in his fourth start of the season, buried a huge triple with 56 seconds to play for a 58-51 lead.
 
"Dakota really responded, which was great because that foul trouble usually affects him," Chambers said. "He was battling in there. And Chase didn't shoot it well, but his five steals really perked us up. We have been challenging him on the defensive end, and getting five steals in that spot was huge. That was a dagger 3 he made."
 
Rivers' trey with 2:44 to go was the start of FGCU's game-ending offensive flurry – the first by either team after an entire game that saw neither the Eagles nor Dolphins take more than a four-point lead. He also hit two free throws to make it 55-51, Thompson buried two more with 42 seconds remaining for a 60-51 lead, and Thompson again was true from the line with 26 seconds to play.
 
Redshirt junior forward Mike Marsh led Jacksonville with 18 points and eight rebounds, and redshirt junior guard Kevion Nolan added 14 points.
 
The Green & Blue completes its three-game road trip Wednesday by taking on Stetson (14-11, 9-5) at 7 p.m. Jacksonville plays at Austin Peay 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 206 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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