FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball (12-15, 6-8 ASUN) held off Stetson (9-18, 5-9) 78-76 on Saturday afternoon at Alico Arena behind a clutch late layup from
Rahmir Barno.
Barno got to the rim with 20 seconds to play and calmly delivered the go-ahead bucket moments after Stetson's Collin Kuhl put the Hatters up 76-75. Stetson brought the ball up the court and took a timeout with 10 seconds remaining. Barno played the hero again. He deflected the inbound pass to himself and flipped the ball to
Isaiah Malone near midcourt as he was sailing toward the scorer's table.
Malone knocked down a free throw and the Eagles forced a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer that fell short to secure the 78-76 victory.
Kuhl led all scorers with a 28 point, 12 rebound double-double in the loss. He scored six of Stetson's last nine points and was the only Hatter to hit multiple field goals in the last ten minutes.
Jordan Ellerbee led FGCU with 18 points. The freshman posted his ninth consecutive double-digit game in the win.
Michael Duax scored 15 with three steals, and JR Konieczny had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.
Isaiah Malone recorded three blocks to move into a tie with Kyle Marks for the second most blocks in a season in FGCU history with 51. He needs one more block to take sole possession of second on that list.
FGCU trailed for nearly the entire first half, as Stetson shot 56.7% from the field and 60% from 3-point range. It was raining 3-pointers for both squads at the end of the half, with eight made triples in the last six minutes. The Eagles hit five, including one each from Konieczny, Duax and Ellerbee to go with a pair from
Rory Stewart. Konieczny made a layup after Stewart hit the fifth 3-pointer in that stretch to bring the score to a 44-44 tie at halftime.
The second half was the opposite – the Eagles led for the bulk of the period after Barno put FGCU on top first in the frame. The Eagles harkened back to their Dunk City days on numerous occasions, making five dunks on the afternoon. Malone had two, Duax and Konieczny had one apiece, as did
Tristen Guillouette.
Barno, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, hit a shot with 5:42 to go. Stetson mounted a comeback, going on a 9-0 run to take a 74-73 lead as the Eagles didn't score again until a pair of free throws from Ellerbee with 46 seconds left. He knocked down both to put FGCU on top 75-74 with 46 seconds left.
On the other end, Kuhn's initial layup attempt was blocked by Guillouette, but he got his own rebound and putback to give Stetson the 76-74 lead. Barno then took matters into his own hands, getting the basket and subsequent steal to deliver FGCU the 78-76 win.
FGCU earned its fourth straight win over Stetson and leads the all-time series with the Hatters 28-13.
Next, FGCU continues its homestand against Jacksonville (10-17, 5-9) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 for FC Naples Night.
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.
Postgame Notes
– FGCU earned its first win of the season when the game was tied at halftime (1-2)
– Ellerbee scored in double-digits for the ninth consecutive game
– Ellerbee has 20 double-digit games this season
– Malone is tied with Kyle Marks for the second most blocks in a single season by an FGCU player with 51
– Konieczny had his 16th double-digit games of the 2025-26 season despite missing four games.
– Konieczny has scored in double-digits in four straight games and eight of his last ten games
–
Tristen Guillouette had his best rebounding game against a Division I opponent, grabbing eight boards (six on the offensive glass) to tie his season high set against New College and Fort Lauderdale
– Duax had his best offensive game of ASUN play, scoring 15
– It's the most points Duax has scored since setting his career high with 22 against Oral Roberts in November
– FGCU leads the all-time series with Stetson 28-13, and has won four games in a row
