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Florida Gulf Coast University Athletics recently issued the following announcement.

Tavian Dunn-Martin scores game-high 26 points including game-winning free throws in final seconds.

 In a game that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, it was a pair of Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington HS/Akron/Duquesne) free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining the pushed the FGCU men's basketball team past Rhode Island on Tuesday night in Alico Arena. The Eagles improved to 3-2 having won their second straight, while the Rams fell to 4-2 overall.

 

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.

"I told our guys at halftime that it was the worst half I've seen us play in terms of not having energy, not having our emotion, and our normal confidence," said head coach Michael Fly. "Our message was despite that, we were only down by 11 and that if they played like they normally do, they could get back into the game. Credit to the team for taking that to heart and they came out strong in the second half. For Tavian tonight, in particular, he's such a confident player and does so many things well. He's built for big moments and showed that tonight."

 

Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) 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 (Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption Christian/TCU) chipped in with five points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

 

Four Rams scored in double figures, led by Makhel Mitchell, who had 16 points, and Antwan Walker, who chipped in with 13.

 

Trailing by 11 at halftime, the Eagles came out of the locker room on fire, taking a 48-46 lead on an Austin Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Bloom HS/Northern Illinois/Triton College/Tulsa) three-pointer with 12 minutes left in the game culminating a 16-4 run. The Eagles

 

FGCU extended its lead to 58-52 as the Eagles used a six-point possession to take their largest lead of the night. Junior Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) hit a three and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but the Eagles grabbed the offensive rebound, allowing graduate student Matt Halvorsen (Kingsport, Tenn./Christ School/Western Carolina) to knock down another three. That culminated a hot streak from deep as the Eagles shot 77.8 percent (7-of-9) up to that point.

 

The Rams fought back and eventually took a 64-63 lead on a dunk by Makhel Mitchell with 33 seconds left. Dunn-Martin responded with driving layup with 22 seconds to go, but the Rams retook the lead on two free throws by Malik Martin with seven seconds remaining.

 

Dunn-Martin wasted no time, going right to the basket where he drew a foul, setting up his game-winning free-throws. Rhode Island had one last chance at the buzzer, but Makhi Mitchell's three was off the mark.

 

Rhode Island had a 42-18 advantage in the paint, but the Eagles made up for it by going 11-26 from distance while holding the Rams to 3-15, including 0-4 in the second half.

 

The Eagles will be back at Alico Arena this weekend for three games in the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational, running Friday through Sunday as part of a Thanksgiving feast of hoops. The Green and Blue will host Western Michigan on Friday night (7 PM), Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday (7 PM), and Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday (6 PM). 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.

 

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.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN

IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

 

COACH FLY

Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth FGCU men's basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. In his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 192-136 record (.583 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year in Schadrac Casimir. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).

 

Original source can be found here.