Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
2-0
UCF
1-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fla. Atlantic | 31 | 49 | 80 |
| UCF | 37 | 42 | 79 |
Lepichev’s Putback Lifts Men’s Basketball Over UCF 80-79
11/11/2018 7:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team rallied from a 20-point first half deficit to defeat in-state rival UCF 80-79 on Sunday. The win gives the Owls their 2-0 start since the 2010-11 season.
The Start
The Knights (1-1) scored the first 12 points of the game, before a Richardson Maitre 3-pointer put FAU on the board with 13:12 left in the first half. UCF's lead ballooned to 20, 26-6, at the 8:38 mark of the stanza. The Owls gradually chipped away at the deficit, pulling to within four, before a UCF bucket made the score 37-31 at the half.
The Turning Point
UCF pushed its lead back to 11 on two separate occasions in the second half, with the Owls responding with a run to take the lead each time. A Jailyn Ingram triple put FAU ahead 71-70 with three minutes left in the game.
The Finish
The lead changed hands four more times before B.J. Taylor hit a running layup to give UCF a 77-75 lead with 35 seconds left. Just seven seconds later, Anthony Adger made a 3-pointer that put the Owls up 78-77. Taylor made another tough layup, regaining the lead for the Knights, 79-78. Michael Forrest went the length of the floor and took a jumper from the right baseline, his shot missed, but Simeon Lepichev was able to grab the rebound and put the ball back in the hoop for the go-ahead basket. The officials ruled that there were eight-tenths of a second left, but the Owls stole the inbounds pass to clinch the victory.
Notables
- Adger led the Owls with 19 points,
- Xavian Stapleton recorded his first double-double in a FAU uniform with 14 points and 10 rebounds
- Jailyn Ingram scored all 12 of his points in the second half
- Karlis Silins had his second double-digit scoring game in a row, registering 11 points in just 10 minutes of action
- As a team, the Owls outrebounded the taller Knights squad 40-38
Quotable
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
On his team's comeback...
"We really just focused on us, our fight, our rebounding and not turning the ball over. If we don't turn the ball over and we can rebound, we're going to be a dangerous team, because we have a lot of weapons offensively."
Looking Ahead
The Owls will head to the Bahamas for the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase next weekend, beginning on Friday, Nov. 16 against Georgia Southern. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. Live audio can be heard on ESPN 106.3 FM. In-game updates will also be available at twitter.com/FAU_Hoops.
