LAST GAME: FGCU Uses Hot Shooting Night to Defeat Kennesaw St. (Box Score on Page 36)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - A season-high six players reached double figures led by 17 points from 6-foot-9 sharpshooting freshman FILIP CVJETICANIN, as FGCU picked up its third win in a row with a 92-74 Atlantic Sun triumph over Kennesaw State in front of 2,810 fans at Alico Arena Saturday night. • The win gave the Green and Blue and season sweep of the Owls (3-19, 0-10) and moves the Eagles to 6-4 in the A-Sun. FGCU’s three-game win streak is its longest of the season and its 11 wins (11-10) equal a program Division I record. • Cvjeticanin’s 5-for-6 night from three-point land was a microcosm of the type of shooting performance the Eagles put on, surpassing the 50-percent clip for the third straight game. FGCU finished 29-of-48 from the field (60.4%) and knocked down 27-of-34 at the free throw line to break 90 points for the third straight game. • With the score tied 47-47 at the 12:35 mark of the second half, FGCU broke the game open over the next four and half minutes thanks to a 19-4 run. The game-changing spurt was capped by back-to-back three-pointers by Cvjeticanin, while Fieler had five points and two assists during the run that gave the Eagles a 66-51 lead with 7:01 remaining.
NEW COACH, NEW HOPES
On March 31st, the FGCU men’s basketball program got a new look for its 10th season in program history when ANDY ENFIELD was named head coach. Enfield, who spent the previous five years as an assistant with Florida State, is the second head coach in FGCU’s brief history. While at FSU, Enfield was a part of two teams that advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and back-toback clubs that lead the NCAA in defensive field goal percentage. CATEGORY Scoring Offense Scoring Defense FG Pct. FG Pct. Defense 3PT Pct. 3PT Pct. Defense Steals Per Game Blocks Per Game Through 21 Games
2010-11 65.7 72.8 .401 .448 .330 .369 6.3 2.2 5-16 (2-10)
2011-12 73.0 71.2 .478 .422 .391 .339 8.2 3.8 11-10 (6-4)
IMPROVEMENT +7.3 +1.6 +.077 +.026 +.061 +.030 +1.9 +1.6 +6 Wins
LEADER OF THE PACK
Freshman BERNARD THOMPSON is making a strong case for ASun Freshman of the Year, leading all conference rookies in scoring (11.9), rebounding (4.8) and steals (2.0) - figures that are all in the top 20 in the A-Sun. The Conyers, Ga. product has led FGCU in scoring seven times thanks to a team-best 16 double figure outings that has him 14th overall in the A-Sun in scoring.
SHOOTER'S ROLL
Just two games removed from a program Division I record 64.7 percent shooting night (33-51) at Stetson, FGCU leads the A-Sun in both field goal percentage (.478) and three-point percentage (.391) - figures that would rank 34th and 29th nationally when figured into the latest rankings through Jan. 26. The Eagles have been held below 40 percent in a game just two times this season, while going 7-1 when breaking the 50-percent plateau. FGCU enters Monday having shot 50 percent or better in three straight games, a program Division I record and just the fourth time in the 10 years of the program it has been accomplished. The Green and Blue's current 47.8 field goal percentage is on pace to break the single-season record.
HELPING HAND
Freshman BRETT COMER leads the A-Sun, is second among all freshmen and 29th nationally in assists per game (5.8). Highlighted by his most recent 12-assist night against Longwood, Comer is the first A-Sun player since 2007 to have three double figure assist games in the same season. Over his current seven-game run, he is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 assists, while going 33-of-54 from the floor with an even or positive assists/turnover ratio in six contests. Comer has led the team in assists in all but one game and has passed out seven or more helpers eight times.
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FIL-ING IT UP
Someone who is never at a loss for words, freshman FILIP CVJETICANIN has let his game do the talking over the last seven contests. Over that span, the 6-foot-9 sharpshooting Croatian has reached double figures five times, highlighted by his most recent 17-point night against Kennesaw State on 5-of-6 from three-point land. Cvjeticanin's 16-of-29 clip from long range over the seven-game stretch has the freshman second in the A-Sun in three-point field goal percentage at 47.2 (34-72).
WE'LL PICK YOU UP
Through 21 games, FGCU averages 29.4 points per game off the bench, highlighted by 124 points (41.3) over the last three games. The bench has supplied a double figure scorer in 18 games, including the team's leading scorer on 11 occasions, while scoring 25+ points 16 times as a unit. At SMU, sophomore CHRISTOPHE VARIDEL poured in 20 points on 6-of-7 from three-point land and turned in another 20-point game against Maine to account for the top two bench efforts. Looking further, the bench is shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 45.6 percent (93-204) from three. Against Longwood, the bench produced 49 points for their third 40+ point night of the season.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Leading the A-Sun at a 39.1 percent clip from three-point range as a team, four different Eagles rank in the top 10 individually. Freshman FILIP CVJETICANIN is second in the conference, shooting 47 percent, while sophomore CHRISTOPHE VARIDEL is third (.467), junior Sherwood Brown (.391) is eighth and freshman BERNARD THOMPSON is ninth (.390).
BALANCED ATTACK
A season-best six players reached double figures in FGCU's win over Longwood, while at least five players have done so in seven of FGCU's last 11 games (7-0), while the Eagles are 8-2 when four or more players reach double-digits in the same game. Freshman BRETT COMER'S 24 points at Stetson were the most by an Eagle this season as he became the fourth player to reach the 20 point plateau. A total of eight players have reached the double-digits this season, while six have led the team in scoring at least once.
INSTANT IMPACT
FGCU's freshmen class has wasted little time making an impact, accounting for 49 percent of the scoring (36.0), 36 percent of the rebounds (12.6) and 67 percent of the assists (9.0). At least one of the four freshmen has scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games, including the last 13, while the Eagles are 7-0 when three members of the quartet accomplish the feat. Led by combo guard BERNARD THOMPSON'S 11.9 points per game, freshmen account for three the Green and Blue's top five scorers. Against Kennesaw State, four freshmen reached double figures - the most in a single-game in program history.
GAME22 VS. MERCER (JAN. 30)
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