Owls Hold Off Pesky Ave Maria Squad 72-59

Thursday, December 10

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

2-5

Ave Maria

1-9

Ave Maria

Florida Atlantic

12/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Dec. 10, 2015

Final Stats

AMU-FAU Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team returned to FAU Arena and had to contend with a tenacious Ave Maria squad on Thursday night, before a second half run propelled the Owls to a 72-59 victory.

The Turning Point
With the Owls down by four points with 12:11 remaining, FAU freshmen Jesse Hill, Jeantal Cylla and Nick Rutherford scored the game's next nine points to give FAU a 52-47 lead. The Owls never trailed again.

Notables
-Four Owls finished in double figures, led by Adonis Filer's 17 points. C. J. Turman (12), Jackson Trapp (12) and Jesse Hill (career-high 11) were the others.

-Ave Maria was led by Julian Adams' 20-point night, as three players finished in double-figure scoring.

-The second half featured three ties and two lead changes, with FAU notching 36 points in the paint and Ave Maria finishing with 28 paint points for the game.

-The Owls finished the night shooting 55 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three-point range. Ave Maria collected a 42 percent overall shooting percentage and was 6-for-17 (35 percent) from three-point range. Both teams shot well from the free throw stripe, with the Gyrenes (91 percent) outshooting FAU (81 percent) from the line.

Quotable From Head Coach Michael Curry:
On the game -- "We wanted to play inside-out, whether that's posting up or with dribble penetration. Either way will create open shots."

Up Next
FAU prepares for a quick turnaround and takes on in-state rival UCF on Saturday night. The Knights defeated UMass 76-72 on Tuesday night. The game will air on ESPN3.com and will be broadcast on ESPN 106.3 FM. Live stats will be available at fausports.com and in-game updates will be available at twitter.com/FAU_Hoops.