FAU Drops Heartbreaker to Middle Tennessee 59-57

Thursday, January 8

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

8:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

Middle Tennessee

1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Jan. 8, 2009

Final Stats | Quotes

MURFREESBORO, TN - Demetrius Green's layup with 2.4 seconds left allowed Middle Tennessee State to hold off an upset bid by Florida Atlantic, beating the visiting Owls 59-57 Thursday night in Murfreesboro.

A pair of free throws by Florida Atlantic's Paul Graham III had tied the game at 57 with 6 seconds left. With a pair of passes, MTSU broke FAU's full-court press and Green finished off the break by banking-in the game's decisive points.

Florida Atlantic (4-12; 0-4 Sun Belt) - who led by as many as nine in the second half - lost another close game on the road. The Owls have begun the season playing 12 of its first 16 away from home.

Middle Tennessee State (10-5; 4-0 Sun Belt) recieved a game-high 20 points from All-America candidate Desmond Yates. Montarrio Haddock had given MTSU its first lead, 55-53, with 2:07 left.

Graham led all FAU scorers with 16. Senior classmate Carderro Nwoji scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, helping the Owls lead 26-22 at the break.

The Blue Raiders made just three of their first 13 shots and the Owls' defense forced MTSU into seven first-half turnovers.

Nwoji made 4 of 5 from the field in the opening period, which allowed FAU to build up an early 14-8 lead and hold a 21-14 edge with 5:10 left before halftime.

FAU blocked four shots in the first half and held a Middle Tennessee squad that had scored 80+ points in each of its three previous Sun Belt games to just 22 points at halftime.

Florida Atlantic returns to action Saturday night when they host Western Kentucky at the FAU Arena at 7 p.m. It will be the first of two consecutive home games for FAU - the first time this season the Owls will have the luxury of playing back-to-back games on its home floor.