FORT MYERS, Fla. – Both Florida Gulf Coast (7-9, 1-2 ASUN) and Lipscomb (9-7, 2-1 ASUN) are looking to bounce back on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Alico Arena after close conference losses on Thursday night.

Saturday's matchup will feature the two best passers in the ASUN in Rahmir Barno and Mateo Esmeraldo. Esmeraldo averages a conference-best 6.9 assists per game, and had 11 against Mercer and 10 against Marshall. Barno is the only other player in the ASUN averaging over five assists per game (5.6) and tallied 13 at FIU and 11 at Central Arkansas.

The last time out, FGCU fell 71-82 to Austin Peay, while the Bisons lost 83-91 at Stetson. JR Konieczny led FGCU with 20 points to set a personal single-season best mark of 247 points. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and tallied 37 minutes despite having to exit briefly in the second half due to a cut on his arm that necessitated his jersey to switch to 14 for the remainder of the contest.

The Eagles went 1-for-10 from the field and 5-for-10 from the free throw line in the last eight minutes in the loss. FGCU's defense held Austin Peay to just 1-for-5 shooting from the field while trailing in the last seven minutes, but the Governors knocked down all eight of their free throws in the same duration to maintain the lead.

Lipscomb got out to a slow start in its trip to Stetson, as the Bisons trailed 46-28 at the halftime break. They cut into the deficit throughout the second half, but were unable to complete the comeback. Grant Asman led Lipscomb with 21 points. 

The last time FGCU and Lipscomb played, the Bisons won 82-68 in Nashville. Michael Duax scored 12 for FGCU and Rory Stewart added ten points and six rebounds.

Lipscomb leads the all-time series 20-14. The two squads have met every year that FGCU has been in Division I. FGCU holds a 7-9 mark at Alico, but hasn't won at home since Jan. 4, 2020.

Lipscomb has four players averaging double digit scoring, led by Grant Asman at 14.31 points per game. Asman also grabs 6.9 rebounds and tallied 1.1 blocks per game. Mateo Esmeraldo averages 10.0 points, 6.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He ranks fifth nationally in total assists. Ross Candelino scores 10.7 and Titas Sargiunas adds 10.1 points per game.

The Bisons have road losses to power conference schools Vanderbilt, Duke (led the Blue Devils by as much as eight points and 45-43 with less than a minute remaining in the first half before Duke pulled away to win 97-73) and Cincinnati. Lipscomb's best nonconference win was a road rout of Marshall, 90-67. The Bisons swept Jacksonville and North Florida, 76-57 and 82-74, at home in the first weekend of ASUN play, but fell to Stetson 91-83 on Thursday night.

The FGCU-Lipscomb game will be the inaugural game on SWFL Fox Sports Radio for FGCU basketball in 2025-26. The game will be aired on 94.1 FM and 103.3 FM in Lee County, on 105.9 FM in Collier County, and online at FoxSportsFM.com. 

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.