JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball erupted with a 17-0 first half run and never looked back en route to a 77-53 win over Lipscomb and 2026 ASUN Tournament semifinal appearance against Central Arkansas on Saturday.

The Eagles dominated the Bisons on Friday afternoon. FGCU outscored Lipscomb 46-22 in points in the paint, outrebounded Lipscomb 42-21, including a 13-3 margin on the offensive glass, and held the Bisons to their fifth-worst 3-point shooting performance of the season.

The 24-point win was the largest margin of victory for the Eagles over Lipscomb in program history, surpassing FGCU's 89-68 triumph (plus-21 points) over Lipscomb on February 13, 2012 at Alico Arena. It was FGCU's first win over Lipscomb since February 2022 and head coach Pat Chambers' first win over the Bisons. The win marks the Eagles' first return to the ASUN Tournament semifinals since 2021, when they also defeated Lipscomb in the quarterfinals.

FGCU had four players score in double-digits in the win, led by Rahmir Barno, who had 18 points and zero turnovers. J.R. Konieczny pitched in a 12 point, 11 rebound double-double with four steals. Jordan Ellerbee scored 11, Isaiah Malone had a 17 point outing and Michael Duax added eight points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.

"This is really about resiliency," Chambers said. "That last four minutes of the first half, we're on our heels a little bit. They made a great run and I really thought we showed our character in the second half, that first four or five minutes. 

"We showed that we're not going anywhere and we're becoming the team that we think we can be by the end of the season… great job by the whole group."

The Bisons' lone lead of the game was at 2-0. Duax immediately responded with a dunk that collapsed the goal's stanchion and forced a stoppage in play. Konieczny knocked down a triple on the next possession to give FGCU the lead and set the tone for the afternoon. Lipscomb made a layup with 14:30 remaining in the half that cut the lead to 15-14 before FGCU took full control. The Eagles soared to a 17-0 run, their best of the season. Duax and Malone each had dunks during the run; Malone, Darren Williams and Rory Stewart all hit 3-pointers to make it a 32-14 FGCU lead.

During that stretch, Lipscomb had three turnovers and missed six 3-pointers.

The Bisons drew closer at the halftime break to cut the lead to 36-27, and got as close as 41-36 in the second half with 16:47 to go. FGCU responded with another dominant run, going on a 15-0 sprint to go up 56-36 and retake any glimmer of momentum that may have shifted to the Bisons.

Ellerbee gave FGCU a 20-point cushion for good when he hit a layup to make the score 63-43 with 7:10 to play, and the Eagles rolled to a 77-53 victory. 

Lipscomb was led by Ross Candelino, who scored 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.

Next, FGCU faces No. 1 Central Arkansas at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 7. 

For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.

Postgame Notes
– The 24-point margin of victory was FGCU's largest over Lipscomb in program history
– The win was FGCU's first over Lipscomb since 2022
– FGCU advances to the ASUN Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2021
– Ellerbee's 11 points were good for his 25th double-digit game of the season
– Konieczny's 12 points were good for his 21st double-digit game of the season
– Konieczny's 11 rebounds were good for his fifth double-double of the season and second consecutive double-double
– Konieczny has four consecutive double-digit games and double-digits in nine of his last 10 games
– Barno's 18 points were good for his 20th double-digit game of the season
– FGCU is 5-3 this season when Barno leads the team in scoring
– Malone's 17 points were good for his 16th double-digit game of the season
– The Eagles held Lipscomb to just 27.6% shooting from 3-point range, the Bisons' fifth-worst performance from behind the arc this season
– FGCU's plus-21 rebound margin is the fourth-best rebound margin on the season and second best against a Division I opponent. 
– FGCU is 14-4 when outrebounding its opponent this season
– A win on Saturday would send FGCU to its first ASUN Tournament title game since 2018, when it lost 108-96 to Lipscomb. 
– The Eagles last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2017
– FGCU has never won the ASUN Tournament as a 5 seed. The Eagles were the 1 seed in 2017, the 4 seed in 2016 and the 2 seed in 2013
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