Men's Basketball Edged Out By FIU 62-60

Sunday, January 4

Boca Raton, Fla.

2:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

7-7, 0-1

FIU

8-6, 1-0

FIU

Florida Atlantic

1/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Jan. 4, 2015

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Despite three players scoring in double figures, the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team dropped a narrow 62-60 decision to FIU on Sunday.

FIU came out hot from the floor to start the game and had built a 10-point lead by the midway point of the first half. Back-to-back threes by Solomon Poole immediately cut the margin to four. The Panthers (8-6, 1-0 C-USA) had pushed the lead back to seven with a minute left in the half before Kelvin Penn and Justin Massey scored on layups to trim the deficit to 28-25 at the break.

In the second half, the Owls (7-5, 0-1) remained within striking distance, but were unable to overtake FIU. The lead was back to seven, 50-43, with 7:53 left in the game when FAU ran off seven straight points to tie the score. From that point, the lead when back and forth for several possessions. After a pair of Adrian Diaz free throws put FIU ahead 59-57, the Owls had a couple of chances to tie the score, but were unable to convert. Two more Panther free throws had them up 61-57, when Poole hit a deep three to cut the lead to a single point. FIU split its next trip to the line, giving the Owls a chance to respond, but the shot at the buzzer was short.

Poole had 22 points to lead the Owls, while Kelvin Penn (13) and Jackson Trapp (11) also scored in double digits. The Owls will travel to UAB on Thursday, Jan. 8, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. eastern. Subscription-based live audio of the game will be available through FAUSports.com. All FAU games will be carried on ESPN West Palm 106.3, which has an APP for the Smart Phone platform.