Naples Standard

Florida Gulf Coast University recently issued the following announcement.

Eagles set to host Western Michigan on Friday, Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, and Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday.

Feast Week continues as the FGCU men's basketball team hosts a trio of games starting Friday night for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational at Alico Arena. The Eagles, coming off a thrilling win on Tuesday against Rhode Island, will open the weekend on Friday night against Western Michigan (7 PM) before hosting Southeastern Louisiana (7 PM) on Saturday, and Purdue Fort Wayne (6 PM) on Sunday.

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Each day will also feature an early non-FGCU game at 4:30 PM on Friday and Saturday and 1:30 PM on Sunday.

Tickets are still available by calling 866-FGCU-TIX, stopping by the Alico Arena Ticket Office, or visiting www.FGCUTickets.com. Additionally, the FGCU Ticket Office is offering a special Fans-Giving promotion where you can get reserved sideline seats to either the women's basketball game on Dec. 1 against Princeton (7 PM) or the men's basketball game against Dartmouth on Dec. 4 (7 PM). That offer expires at Noon this Friday, Nov. 26 and can only be taken advantage of by CLICKING THIS LINK.

This weekend will cap five games in seven days for the Green and Blue which defeated Eckerd, 99-59, on Sunday, before picking up a big 67-66 win over Rhode Island on Tuesday.

Through five games this year, FGCU is averaging 79.6 points while giving up 69.8 per game. The Eagles have solid shooting numbers at 44.7 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from deep. FGCU ranks third in the league in scoring, second in scoring margin (+9.8), second in three-pointers (12.4), third in rebounding (40.2), and fourth in blocked shots (4.0), while leading the league in assists (18.4/game).

FGCU is led by Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) and Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) who are averaging 20.5 and 11.6 points per game, respectively. Victor Rosa (Naranjito, Puerto Rico / Central Pointe Christian Academy), buoyed by a 20-point effort against Florida National, is the third leading scorer at 11.5 points a night. Four others are averaging over six points a game.

Western Michigan (1-3) is led by Lamar Norman, Jr., and Mack Smith who are averaging 18.0 and 9.8 points, respectively. The Broncos lone win on the year came against Hope College, while the two losses have come against Michigan State and Saginaw Valley State.

Southeastern Louisiana (3-2) has losses this year at Tulane and at SMU, while picking up wins over Southern Baptist College and Paul Quinn College. The Lions have a trio of players averaging double figures led by 13.8 from Gus Okafor and Jalyn Hinton's 12.6 points. Antonio Gordon is third on the team at 10.0 points, while Keon Clergeot is just behind at 9.6 points.

Purdue Fort Wayne (2-1) is led by Jalon Pipkons' 16.0 points per game followed by 13.7 points from Jarred Godfrey. Ra Kpedi is averaging 11.0 points per night. The Mastadons are coming off a loss at Minnesota, but have wins over Earlam and Austin Peay.

Eagles vs. The Field

• This will be the first ever meetings between FGCU and Western Michigan and Southeastern Louisiana. The Eagles are 1-0 over Purdue Fort Wayne having played once before in 2004 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Second Half Surge Gets FGCU Past Rhode Island

• In a game that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, it was a pair of Tavian Dunn-Martin free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining the pushed the FGCU men's basketball team past Rhode Island on Tuesday night in Alico Arena. Dunn-Martin finished with a game-high 26 points with four key points in the final 22 seconds as FGCU rallied from an 11-point deficit at halftime with a sensational second half. The graduate transfer from Duquesne scored 18 points in the second half and finished the night 8-of-13 from the floor, a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, and added two assists. It marked his 10th career game with 20-or-more points including his season-high 34 points earlier this season at Loyola Chicago.

• Caleb Catto went 4-for-4 from behind the arc as he added 14 points including a pair late in the first half to keep the Eagles close. Senior Kevin Samuel chipped in with five points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Balanced Offense Paces FGCU Over Eckerd

• Six players, led by 15 points from both Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) and Zach Anderson (Orlando, Fla./Apopka HS), scored in double-figures on Sunday night as FGCU defeated Eckerd, 99-59. Tavian Dunn-Martin (13), Cyrus Largie (12), Andre Weir (11), and Kevin Samuel (11) all socred in double-digits making it the first time since the Eagles' 103-70 win over North Florida on Jan. 29, 2018.

Leaders Among the ASUN

• Tavian Dunn-Martin is the leading scorer in the ASUN with his 20.5 point per game average. He also ranks third in three-point percentage (.455) and leads the league in three-pointers made (3.75). His 34 points at Loyola Chicago still stands as the top individual performance by any ASUN player this year.

• Kevin Samuel [Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption HS (Texas)/TCU] ranks third in the ASUN in blocked shots (2.25) and ranks fourth in the league in rebounding (7.5).

• Luis Rolon (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Central Pointe Christian Academy) ranks fifth in assists per game (4.8) and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.18).

Dunk City Reunion Sellout

• The home game against No. 25 USC and former Eagles head coach Andy Enfield was officially a sellout with 4,509 fans packing into The Nest. It was just shy of the program record 4,711 fans who were on hand to see FGCU defeat North Florida for the 2017 ASUN Championship title.

• The game was part of a special two-day event as FGCU held the official induction ceremony for the 2013 Dunk City Team into the newly formed Athletics Hall of Fame. Returning members from that team were also honored at halftime on Tuesday.

• It also marked the first time in program history that a Top 25-ranked opponent had visited Alico Arena in the Division I era.

Dunn-Martin Gets Hot In Debut

• Tavian Dunn-Martin certainly made a splash in his FGCU debut on Saturday at Loyola Chicago. The 5-foot-8 guard scored a career-high 34 points which stand as the fourth-most points scored by any player in the country this season for a single-game.

• The effort also ranks as the sixth-most points for a single game overall in FGCU history and marked the second-most points in the program's Division I era. It also stood as the most points for a player in their Eagle debut.

• Dunn-Martin's nine three pointers tied the program's Division I era record. At the start of the 2nd half, he hit four straight triples which helped FGCU cut an 18 point halftime deficit to just four in the second half before the Ramblers were able to hold off the Eagles to win the game. Overall, he shot 55 percent for the game (64.3 percent from beyond the arc) connecting on 11-of-20 field goal attempts.

Among The ASUN's Best Defense

• Last season, FGCU led the ASUN in eight team statistical categories including blocked shots per game (4.3), defensive rebounds (27.33), steals per game (7.4), and total blocks (77). The Eagles were also second in defensive field goal percentage (42.1) and turnovers forced (14.44), while ranking third in scoring defense (69 ppg).

• While Kevin Samuel is expected to bolster FGCU's defense with his TCU-record 206 career blocked shots, making him one of the top-10 active career players in the NCAA this season, FGCU also returns last season's top shot blocker in Dakota Rivers.

• Rivers led the ASUN last year with 1.94 blocks per game as well as total blocks (35). He enters 2021-22 ranked fifth in career blocked shots (74) and first in career blocked shots per game (1.5).

Samuel Predicted To Make An Impact

• TCU transfer Kevin Samuel was selected as the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and as a member of the league's preseason all-conference team.

• The 6-foot-11, 255 pound center is the third FGCU player to earn the preseason ASUN Defensive Player of the Year award and the first since Demetris Morant did so in 2016-17. Bernard Thompson earned the accolade twice in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

• At TCU, Samuel started all 95 career games of his career and set the school record for blocked shots with 206 in three years. For his career, he's averaged 8.8 points and 7.7 rebounds while leading the Big 12 in blocks twice. Among active NCAA players at the end of the 2020-21 season, his 206 career blocks were the ninth most.

• Last season, he averaged 8.8 points, third best on the team, through 26 games. His 7.8 rebounds ranked third in the Big 12, while his 1.7 blocks per game led the conference. His 62.5 field goal percentage was the best on the team as well.

Traveling Through The Portal

• With the change of transfer rules and the additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19, FGCU made recruiting transfers a high priority for this season's roster.

• In addition to Samuel, FGCU added Tavian Dunn-Martin (Duquesne), Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina), Carlos Rosario (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Redemption Prep/Pensacola College/McNeese State), and Austin Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Don Bosco Institute/Triton College/Tulsa).

• Dunn-Martin was the 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year and has played in 116 career games, while Halvorsen hit 297 career three pointers to rank 9th all-time in Southern Conference history.

• Rosario and Richie each bring a wealth of experience at the Division I level and add depth at the forward and guard positions, respectively.

Eagles Return 63% of Scoring From 2020-21

• Highlighted by returning its top two scorers in Cyrus Largie (13.4 ppg) and Caleb Catto (13.3 ppg), FGCU returns 63-percent of its scoring from last season.

• Among the transfers, three averaged double figures last year: Dunn-Martin (10.2 ppg), Halvorsen (12.1 ppg), and Rosario (12.0 ppg). Samuel averaged 8.8 points last season, but had his best statistical season in 2019-20 where he scored 10.0 points per game with 8.4 rebounds and a Big 12 leading 2.7 blocks per game.

Individual Tickets, Mini Plans Available

• Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10-or-more making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.

For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

Original source can be found here.