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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite 24 points from junior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue), the FGCU men's basketball team (14-11 overall, 4-8 ASUN Conference) dropped a heartbreaker Saturday night – falling to North Alabama 87-85 in overtime at Alico Arena.
 
Thompson's effort was his fourth straight 20-plus scoring effort – and he made six of the Green & Blue's 11 3-pointers. Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson) came off the bench to score 21 points, including four triples. Sophomore forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) added 14 points.
 
Thompson's running jumper in the lane as time expired in regulation forced the overtime session and sent the 4,056 who packed The Nest with its largest home crowd of the season into a frenzy. FGCU had three chances at the end of the extra session – one to win and two putback attempts to tie – but neither shot attempt found the bottom of the net to snap what is now a five-game losing streak.
 
"Our kids could have given up, and give North Alabama credit for making big-time plays and big-time shots. I was proud of this group tonight," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "They competed to the very end, and gave us multiple chances to win. That's all you can ask for. We got better.
 
"It doesn't feel good, it is in the wrong side of the column. But as long as these guys keep showing up, we will keep showing up. These kids are working extremely hard. We will be the best team we can be by the end of the year."
 
North Alabama (14-11, 6-6) got 19 points from sophomore guard Daniel Ortiz, 18 from freshman guard Jacari Lane, 12 from junior guard KJ Johnston and 10 from sophomore guard Will Soucie.
 
FGCU started hot, rattling of a 15-2 run in the game's first five minutes. North Alabama whittled down the Eagles' advantage to four points, only to see Thompson hit consecutive triples to make it 29-18 at the 8:31 mark. But UNA kept hanging around, and the Lions snapped off a half-ending 5-1 flurry to trail 38-33 at halftime.
 
The second half remained largely a back-and-forth affair – with FGCU taking a seven-point lead with 12:28 to go, only to see UNA promptly cut it to a single point with a 6-0 burst. The Eagles would then go ahead by five points with 7:43 remaining, only to witness the Lions snap off a 6-0 run for a 61-60 edge with 6:14 to play.
 
Thompson's running bucket in the paint touched off a 6-0 FGCU run that made it 68-66 with 2:31 to go, and Johnston nailed a corner triple with 30 seconds to go to tie it at 71. Lane drove for a twisting layup with seven seconds to play, setting up Thompson's game-tying basket that forced overtime.
 
North Alabama built a four-point edge with 3:06 to go in the extra session, and then led by five with 43 seconds to play. But FGCU wasn't finished – as sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) grabbed one of his game-high 10 rebounds off the offensive glass and found Johnston on the wing for a quick 3 that made it 85-82 with 32 seconds remaining.
 
UNA would hit a free throw on its end for a four-point margin, but Johnston again was true from beyond the arc to make it 86-85 with 18 seconds to go. The Lions hit one of two free-throw attempts with 15 seconds to go for a two-point edge, setting up FGCU's unsuccessful attempts to win or to force a second overtime.
 
FGCU shot 46.3 percent from the field (31-of-67) in the loss. North Alabama was red-hot, shooting 54.4 percent (31-of-57).
 
The Green & Blue is set to hit the road for a three-game Sunshine State road trip – taking on North Florida at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jacksonville at 4 p.m. on Feb. 11 and Stetson at 7 p.m. Feb. 15. FGCU's next home game is Feb. 18 vs. Stetson.
 
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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