FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball ended 2025 on a high note with a dominant 84-43 win over Fort Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon.
Isaiah Malone starred and led all scorers with a 15 point, 14 rebound double-double. The 6'8 junior forward added a career high six blocks, falling two shy of the single-game FGCU record. It's the most blocks in a game by an Eagle since Kevin Samuel recorded seven at Stetson on Feb. 12, 2022.
Rory Stewart scored 14 and
Darren Williams added 10 for FGCU. Stewart had a season high seven rebounds;
Jack Reddick reached the same mark for a career high.
Tristen Guillouette's eight rebounds tied his season best mark.
The Eagles started slowly, shooting just 4-for-20 from 3-point range in the first half, allowing Fort Lauderdale to stay in the game. An extended 18-5 run over a nine minute span propelled by five apiece from Williams and Malone put FGCU in control of the game as the first half wound to a close.
Malone and the Eagles flew out of the halftime tunnel. The offense started knocking down triples – six in the second half – and crashed the offensive glass. FGCU recorded 23 offensive rebounds in the win, seven of which belonged to Malone. The Eagles totaled 25 second chance points off the offensive rebounds, a welcome sight after combining for 22 second chance points in the three previous contests.
The Eagles grabbed 54 total rebounds for their third 50+ rebound game of the year. It's already the second most 50 rebound games in a season for FGCU, only behind the 2015-16 NCAA Tournament season. The plus-31 rebound margin is the largest of the Chambers era and the second largest in a single game ever for FGCU.
FGCU's defense came out with more intensity in the second half, too; holding Fort Lauderdale without any points for over six minutes in the middle of the period. The Eagles' 16-0 run during that stretch is tied for their best run of the 2025-26 season.
Freshman guard
Matt McCarthy capped off the win with a 3-pointer in front of the Eagles bench for his first career made basket.
Next, FGCU begins conference play on New Year's Day at 2 p.m. at Central Arkansas.
Tickets are on sale now for ASUN action at
https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/list/FGCU.
For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit
fgcuathletics.com.
