FGCU MBB vs UNF Preview

The FGCU men's basketball team is set to take on North Florida for the second time this season at 5 p.m. Jan. 27 inside Alico Arena. The Sunday contest will be a Whiteout and will be part of a doubleheader with the FGCU women. The game is being sponsored by Coconut Point Ford. The Eagles (7-14, 2-4 A-SUN) have won two of their last three games and dropped a close decision on the road to league favorite Lipscomb, while the Ospreys (9-13, 3-4 A-SUN) look to end a three-game losing skid.

Last Time Out:
FGCU suffered a close 89-81 setback to A-SUN Conference favorite Lipscomb Thursday night in Allen Arena. The Bisons had won their previous four games by an average of 21.5 points per game and had yet to yield 80 points to any A-SUN opponent this season.

The Eagles hung with the reigning champs and league-leading Bisons for all 40 minutes, and even held a lead with less than three minutes to play. The home side was able to hang on in the end, using a late 14-2 run to avoid the upset bid. FGCU actually outshot Lipscomb, finishing 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the field.

Offensively, redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir leads the Eagles with 13.3 points per game. Casimir had 14 points against Lipscomb.

Returning to the rotation, junior RaySean Scott Jr, who was sidelined with a leg injury, is averaging 8.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Scott Jr. had four points and seven rebounds against Lipscomb.

Junior Christian Carlyle is averaging 8.4 points per game. Carlyle had eight points and six assists.

Redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius also comes into play for the Eagles. Mercurius is averaging 8.8 points per game. Mercurius came off the bench and scored 17 points against Lipscomb while going 4-for-5 at the 3-point line.

Junior Decardo Day has also been on key as far as assist-wise. Day is averaging 6.4 points and 3.7 assists per game. Against Lipscomb, the double transfer from Southern Utah and Iowa Western Community College had three points and five assists.

As far as defensively and rebounding, aside from Scott Jr., redshirt junior Brady Ernst and sophomore Brian Thomas have came in clutch as well.

Now being a starter for most of the season, Ernst is averaging 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Ernst did not play against Lipscomb due to a concussion.

After coming back from injury, Thomas is averaging 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while also pulling away with 1.5 blocks per game. Thomas, who earned his third start of the season while filling in for Ernst after his concussion, had eight points and two block against Lipscomb.

Redshirt sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. had 10 points against Lipscomb. The UNLV transfer is averaging 7.1 points and one block per game.

Ernst (12), Thomas (18) and Baxter Jr. (19) have a combined blocks 49 blocks.

Scouting UNF:
After picking up wins in four out of five games, the Ospreys have lost its last three outings. Those have all been A-SUN matchups against Liberty, NJIT and Jacksonville. The Ospreys' three league triumphs have come at the hands of North Alabama, FGCU and Stetson.

UNF features leading scorer and rebounder junior Noah Horchler, who is averaging 15.7 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game.

Fellow junior Garrett Sams (11.9 ppg) also averages double-digit scoring, while redshirt junior JT Escobar is third on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and sophomore Wajid Aminu is second in rebounding (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg).

Junior Ivan Gandia-Rosa (11.0 ppg) gives the Ospreys five who are scoring in double figures.

Series History:
Sunday's matchup between FGCU and UNF will mark the 31st all-time meeting between the two programs, and the Green and Blue lead the series 17-13. This serves as the longest-tenured rivalry in Eagle history, and this is the only series that has been played at least 30 times. FGCU recently saw an eight-game win streak come to an end, as UNF defeated the Eagles on Jan. 12 in Jacksonville.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air on ESPN+. Commentary will be done by play-by-play commentator Dave Moulton and color commentator J. Webb Horton.

Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB

UNF: @ospreymbb

ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.

Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238818

Livestream Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/b284287a-32ee-4426-8e4a-c87ac6b5e363/north-florida-vs-florida-gulf-coast

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