FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball (8-13, 2-6 ASUN) returns to Alico Arena to square off with North Alabama (6-12, 1-6) at 7 p.m. on January 29.

The last time out, Isaiah Malone led FGCU with a career high 23 points and his first 20-point game on 9-for-10 shooting from the field against Lipscomb. Malone has five double-digit scoring outings in ASUN play after tallying four throughout the nonconference slate. Rory Stewart scored 15 and Jordan Ellerbee added 12 points for the Eagles.  

The Lions enter the Thursday tilt at 6-12 on the season and 1-6 in ASUN play. UNA's lone conference win came 82-73 on the road at Bellarmine when Dallas Howell scored 24 points on eight made 3-pointers and Corneilous Williams added a 20 point, 15 rebound double-double. That's the Lions' lone win since a December 3 road win at San Francisco, UNA is 1-8 since beating the Dons. 

UNA leads the ASUN in team blocks per game, with 4.3, and in free throw attempts per game at 21.8. They also turn the ball over only 10.8 times per game, the best mark in the conference.

North Alabama has four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Corneilous Williams, who scores 13.6 points per game. Williams missed the first UNA-FGCU contest due to illness, per the Lions' home ESPN+ broadcast. Williams also grabs 9.5 rebounds per game for UNA. Donte Bacchus and Canin Jefferson each average 13.1 points per game; Jefferson tallies 2.4 assists per game. Kevin de Kovachich records 1.3 steals per game and Jamal Albritton notches 1.3 blocks per game.

FGCU earned a 72-55 win over North Alabama in Florence earlier this year. In that game, Rahmir Barno led FGCU with 14 points and five assists. Jordan Ellerbee scored 13 points and was a team-best plus-22 in his 22:57 on the floor. Isaiah Malone added 11 points and eight rebounds, and JR Konieczny scored ten. 

The Eagles are aiming for a regular season sweep of UNA for the third time in school history after doing so in 2021 & 2022 (the two teams only met once per year from 2023-25). A FGCU win would level the all-time series between the schools at 8 wins apiece, and Chambers would improve to 3-2 against UNA with a win.

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.