The FGCU men’s basketball team split its games in the Purple CBI Tournament. They defeated Army, 68-65, before falling to Cleveland State, 72-65, on March 24-25.
After a 71-65 loss to Queens in the ASUN Tournament, the Eagles were granted a second chance at redemption with an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Eagles earned a first-round bye in the tournament. For coach Chambers, the CBI marked his first postseason tournament with the Eagles.
On March 23, the Army Black Knights defeated the Elon Phoenix, 83-78, setting up a quarterfinal matchup against the Eagles the following day. This would be FGCU’s third meeting with Army, as the teams split a home-and-home series across the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
It was a tight contest between the Eagles and the Black Knights for most of the first half. With seven minutes remaining, four straight points from Michael Duax sparked an 8-0 run, allowing the Eagles to gain a 27-22 lead. The redshirt junior scored 16 points along with six rebounds and four assists. FGCU led 38-31 at halftime.
In the second half, a three-point jumper from Rahmir Barno gave FGCU its largest lead at 52-42. It was Barno’s first game since the beginning of March. In 26 minutes of action, he scored nine points, recorded three rebounds and three assists. Dallion Johnson scored 10 points in the second half. The senior guard was tied for the team lead in points with 16.
With 47 seconds remaining in the game, Army’s Jalen Rucker hit a three-point shot to cut the deficit to two, 67-65. Following a foul with seven seconds remaining, the Black Knights had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line. Army missed both foul shots and fouled Zavian McLean on the following rebound. The Eagles held off the Black Knights’ late charge to win the game 68-65, to advance to the semifinal of the CBI.
In the semifinal, the FGCU Eagles faced the Cleveland State Vikings, marking the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Already down McLean, whole entered the tournament with a shoulder injury, the Eagles were without forward Keeshawn Kellman as he exited the quarterfinal game against Army with an injury. The pair accounted for a combined 25.4 points of offense.
Despite the lack of depth for FGCU, the Eagles and Vikings were evenly matched throughout most of the game. Tristen Guillouette, who started the game in Kellman’s place, scored eight of his career-high 12 points in the first half. The freshman center also contributed nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
At the ten-minute mark, Dallion Johnson scored his 1,000th career point off a floater in the paint. Johnson scored in double figures again, scoring 10 points.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 9-3 run, with Michael Duax scoring seven points. He finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds. Midway through the half, seven straight points from Jevin Muniz would spark a 9-0 run, giving FGCU a 60-57 lead. The junior guard-forward led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points.
Trailing 66-64 with 59 seconds remaining in the game, Muniz converted only one of his two free throws to pull FGCU within one. However, the Eagles gave up a score and turned the ball over on their next possession, forcing FGCU to foul in an effort to get the ball back. Cleveland State connected on their free throws, putting the game away on a 6-0 run. The final score was 72-65.
The lack of depth and poor free-throw shooting proved costly for the Eagles. Cleveland State’s bench contributed 31 points to FGCU’s five. Meanwhile, the Vikings shot 20-23 (87.0%) from the charity stripe. On the other hand, the Eagles struggled, converting just 8-14 (57.1%).
FGCU concluded the 2024-25 campaign with a 19-15 (13-5 ASUN) record, its most successful season under three-year head coach Pat Chambers.
