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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (14-11 overall, 4-8 ASUN Conference) begins a critical three-game road trip Thursday, taking on the North Florida Ospreys at UNF Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and the game is available to view on ESPN+.
 
The Eagles currently sit 11^th in the 14-team ASUN, one game behind the Ospreys (10-14, 5-7) and Jacksonville, with the top 10 teams earning bids into the ASUN Tournament that begins Feb. 27. FGCU faces the Dolphins on Saturday night.
 
North Florida has won two straight games to lift itself into postseason contention, both coming against the Dolphins last week. The Ospreys claimed a 76-63 victory on Feb. 2 at their cross-town rivals, then won 65-58 at home Feb. 4 to compete the River City Rumble sweep.
 
Junior guard Jose Placer posted 21 points, bringing him to 999 in a UNF uniform. Redshirt junior guard Dorian James pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, and sophomore forward Jadyn Parker surpassed 100 career blocks with two swats.
 
Senior guard/forward Carter Hendricksen leads the Ospreys in scoring at 16.5 points per game, with Placer delivering 13.7 and junior guard Jarius Hicklen adding 11.3 per outing. Hendricksen also grabs a team-high 6.3 rebounds per contest.
 
FGCU owns a 20-16 edge against North Florida in the all-time series, including an emphatic 82-57 victory over the Ospreys on Jan. 7. Sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) recorded his first career double-double – dropping a game-high 18 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds. Weir's nine offensive rebounds were two more than any North Florida player recorded.
 
The victory against North Florida was FGCU's 12^th straight at home. The Green & Blue are 6-11 all-time against the Ospreys at UNF Arena.
 
FGCU aims to snap a five-game losing streak, the most recent an 87-85 overtime heartbreaker against North Alabama on Feb. 4 at Alico Arena. Junior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) scored a game-high 24 points in the setback, his fourth straight 20-plus scoring effort, and 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 against the Lions, including four triples. Sophomore forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) added 14 points.
 
Thompson leads the Green & Blue with 14.7 points per game, while Anderson drops 12.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds, and Johnston adds 12.2 points per outing. Weir has been on a tear in the Eagles' last 11 games, recording two double-doubles and averaging 12.2 points and 8.6 rebounds in that span.

FGCU remains in Duval County after taking on North Florida, next playing at Jacksonville at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Green & Blue finish the road trip Feb. 15 at Stetson at 7 p.m. 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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