By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Green Bay head coach Brian Wardle knows that during the opening month of the season, defenses among college basketball teams are generally ahead of offenses. In a tournament setting down in Florida, Wardle knew the team's philosophy – Compete, Defend and Rebound – needed to be displayed at a high level to compete against a strong Gulf Coast Showcase field.

Including holding two opponents to shooting percentages in the twenties and point totals in the forties, Green Bay's defense was stifling during the three games in three days. Mixing and matching man-to-man and zone defenses, the Phoenix held East Carolina, Evansville and Florida Gulf Coast to an average of 52 points on 34 percent shooting en route to hoisting the championship trophy.  

In the title game against Florida Gulf Coast – the tournament's unofficial host – Green Bay kept the high-profile Eagles' offense without a point for the first seven minutes and 40 seconds. The Phoenix led 15-0 before FGCU connected on a pair of free throws and cruised to a 59-45 win, its second wire-to-wire victory of the tournament. The previously undefeated Eagles entered the game averaging nearly 70 points per game, but shot only 27.3 percent against Green Bay.  

Led by two-time Horizon League All-Defensive Team selection Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.), the Phoenix excelled defending the opposition's top scorers. East Carolina's Caleb White, Evansville's DJ Balentine and Florida Gulf Coast's Bernard Thompson combined to average 10.7 points on 29.7 percent shooting.

Opponent's Leading Scorers vs. GB:
Caleb White, ECU: 6 points, 1-8 FGs
DJ Balentine: 12 points, 5-15 FGs
Bernard Thompson, 14 points, 5-14 FGs

Green Bay really set the tone in the opening halves of the tournament. Like Florida Gulf Coast, East Carolina also failed to score for the first seven-plus minutes of the game against Green Bay. The three teams combined to average 22 points on 26.8 percent shooting.

Opponent's First Half Offense:
East Carolina: 23 points, 8-29 FGs
Evansville: 23 points, 7-25 FGs
FGCU: 20 points, 7-28 FGs

FGCU's field goal percentage was the lowest by a Division I opponent against Green Bay since Milwaukee shot only 26.5 percent on March 5, 2013. In Wardle's career at the helm of the program, the Phoenix has held 16 different opponents to below 50 points. Seven different opponents have failed to shoot 30 percent from the field.  

Green Bay returns home on Monday night, hosting Minnesota-Duluth at 7 p.m. at the Resch Center.

Team Notes

• Green Bay has started a season with a 4-1 record for the first time since 2009-10.
• The last time the Phoenix started a season with at least five wins in the first six games was in 1991-92 (7-0).
• The Phoenix held a rebounding advantage of plus-6.0 during the Gulf Coast Showcase.
• Green Bay shot 50 percent from the field in the tournament, including the bench making 14-of-26 shots.
• With 17 dunks through five games, Green Bay is averaging 3.4 dunks per game. The Phoenix recorded seven dunks in Tuesday's win over Evansville.

Individual Notes

• Senior Keifer Sykes was named MVP of the Gulf Coast Showcase after averaging 17 points, six rebounds, 4.8 rebounds and two steals per game.
• Sykes has scored in double figures in each of Green Bay's five games, and has reached double digits in 82 of his 99 career games.
• The senior guard now ranks eighth all-time in points (1575) and sixth in assists (417).
• Senior Greg Mays was named to the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Mays shot 53.3 percent from the field and totaled seven dunks in the tourney to raise his career total to 81.
• With 12 points and 10 rebounds against FGCU, Mays recorded his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
• Against Evansville, Fouse recorded his 100th career block. Fouse ranks fifth in school history with 102 rejections.
• Fouse also ranks eighth in Phoenix history in steals with 132 in his career.
• After a slow start to the season, junior Carrington Love found his stroke in Florida. After starting the season 3-of-14 from long range, Love made 4-of-6 in the past two games, including his last three triples.
• Love all 11 of his points in the second half against Evansville, his first double-figure game on the season.
• Sophomore Turner Botz is 5-of-8 from long range this season and 12-of-23 in his career.
• In just 14 minutes per game, freshman Daeshon Francis is shooting 70 percent from the field (7-10) and and averaging 4.4 points.  

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