Fort Myers, FL- You never forget your first one. Dunk City came back from down 19 points in the second half to earn their first win of the season Wednesday night at Alico Arena. Jalen Warren (21 points) took over late in the game and after trading baskets in a highly contested overtime, he hit the game winning basket that left 0.2 on the clock.
Stats:
FGCU shot 46% from the field (30/64)
31% From 3 (6/19)
Eagles were outrebounded 36-34 by FAU
21 team turnovers while forcing 22 Owls turnovers
Player stats:
Jalen Warren 21 points, 5 assists
Dakota Rivers 13 points, 5 rebounds
Zach Scott 11 points
Caleb Catto 10 points
Justus Rainwater 6 pts, 10 rebounds
What we saw:
We are still waiting for FGCU to put together two halves, but they showed so much fight in a game where they were down 19 points. Sharp shooter Sam Gagliardi hit three more 3 pointers and provided a glimpse of what can be possible for a sixth man off the bench. This season has been a broken record so far consisting of poor first half shooting for Dunk City. Opposing teams have used deep runs to run away with these games but in this game, FGCU found a way. FAU still has not beaten an NCAA Division I team after this loss, but the road for FGCU is about to get a whole lot tougher vs #21 VCU.
Coaches Clipboard:
Dakota Rivers need to be in the starting lineup! We have been waiting for the young 6’8 Freshman to take off and this was his break out game. In a game where Coach Fly placed Tracy Hector Jr in the starting lineup which surprised all of us, the final line for Tracy was 25 minutes, no points, four steals.
Dakota’s breakout game was full of athleticism and court awareness. The throw down dunks provided a throwback and homage to the former “Dunk City” brand of basketball that has changed over the last few seasons with a new coach and different teammates.
Conclusion:
Enjoy the win and get ready for #21 VCU, Saturday night.
Eagles Nest Cast 
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