FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball (10-13, 4-6 ASUN) is set for its trip to the Derby State, beginning with a 7 p.m. clash with EKU (7-16, 3-7) on Thursday, February 5.

The last time out, the Eagles used their best defensive performance from beyond the arc since 2012 to earn their second consecutive ASUN win in a 68-49 rout of Jacksonville.

The Dolphins went just 1-for-17 (5.9%) from behind the arc, joining Loyola Marymount, who did the same on December 1, 2012, as the two opponents held under 6% from deep by FGCU men's basketball. The 49 points scored by the Dolphins is the second time a conference opponent has been held under 50 in the Chambers era, as the Eagles held Queens to 47 points on January 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, FGCU knocked down triples at a 46.7% clip, led by a 3-for-4 afternoon from Jordan Ellerbee, who led all scorers with 15 points. Ellerbee and Tristen Guillouette, who scored a season-high 11 points, led the Eagles to their eighth straight win over the Dolphins. 

Isaiah Malone is now tied for sixth on the FGCU single-season blocks leaderboard with 44, and needs eight more blocks for the second-best blocking season by an Eagle.

Eastern Kentucky enters at 7-16 and 3-7 in ASUN play. The Colonels are on a four-game skid and haven't won since a 89-69 rout of Bellarmine on January 17. During the skid, North Florida eked past EKU 87-85 before Jacksonville notched an overtime 81-76 win. Last weekend, Austin Peay and Central Arkansas knocked off the Colonels, 90-82 and 90-81, respectively.

All three EKU wins in ASUN play have come at home; the Colonels are 4-5 on the season at Baptist Health Arena and just 2-11 on the road. Eastern Kentucky dispatched Central Arkansas 79-75 in overtime in the front end of the season series on January 10 and earned a 88-80 win over North Alabama on January 8, along with the aforementioned victory over Bellarmine.

The Colonels have four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Juan Cranford Jr. at 12.3 points per game. Montavious Myrick tallies 11.3 points and posts 7.2 rebounds per game. Turner Buttry notches 10.7 points and dishes 3.3 assists per game; Austin Ball adds 10.1 points per game. Yvens Paul blocks 0.9 shots per game for EKU.

EKU leads the all-time series 4-1; the Eagles have yet to earn a win in Richmond. The last time the two squads met, Buttry scored 22 on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range and grabbed seven rebounds, and Myrick added a ten rebound performance for the Colonels en route to a 92-74 win. Michael Duax scored seven and had two steals for FGCU; Tristen Guillouette also scored seven for the Eagles.

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.