FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball relied on a career high 22 points from senior
Michael Duax to rally past Oral Roberts in the opening round of GEICO Coconut Hoops on Monday night, 93-88.
Duax's 22 points led all scorers on the evening and was one point more than his previous career high of 21, set while he was at Northern Iowa. The Dubuque, Iowa, native shot a blistering 9-for-11 from the field, all from inside the arc, and knocked down four of his free throws, including the Eagles' final point of the night.
FGCU (4-2, 0-0 ASUN) also had solid contributions from junior guard
Rahmir Barno, senior forward
Rory Stewart and freshman guard
Jordan Ellerbee, who scored 18, 16 and 13, respectively. Ellerbee made his first career start for FGCU in the win.
The scoring punch from the quartet in double-digits helped the Eagles overcome a hot shooting night from Oral Roberts, as the Golden Eagles knocked down 3-pointers at a 45.8% clip. ORU was led by Ty Harper, who scored 20, and Jack Turner, who posted 18.
FGCU opened well, getting out to a 13-7 lead behind three baskets from Duax. However, the middle four minutes of the opening half saw ORU respond with a 16-2 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers from
Darren Williams and a third consecutive from
Rory Stewart brought the game back within one possession, where it would stay for the rest of the first half. An Ellerbee lay-in with seconds remaining sent the Eagles into halftime up 41-39.
The Golden Eagles, who are still searching for their first Division I win after opening with a difficult power conference slate, wouldn't go away. A 13-2 run that culminated with a make from Ofri Naveh at 14:14 put ORU back up 59-52.
Trailing by five a few minutes later after trading baskets and free throws, Stewart stepped up. The London native scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 8:08. He contributed ten points to a 19-5 run from 8:37 to 2:24, including a triple with 4:59 to play that gave FGCU its first lead in over 11 minutes, and another 3-pointer moments later that put the Eagles up seven points.
For the first time in the 2025-26 season, the Eagles closed out a game at the free throw line, making 24 in the win. FGCU's season high in free throw attempts was 24 in its first five games, and the Eagles had not attempted more than 15 against a DI opponent. The Eagles took 33 free throws on the evening – more than doubling up their season average – 18 of which came in the final two minutes of the game.
Next, FGCU continues the Geico Coconut Hoops tournament at Alico Arena at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Rice, which came up short in an overtime thriller to Kennesaw State on Monday.
Tickets for the full Geico Coconut Hoops tournament are on sale now at
https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/events/MCHOOPS or by calling (866) 342-8849.
For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit
fgcuathletics.com.
