Men’s Basketball Avenges Loss to FIU With 89-72 Victory

Saturday, January 26

Miami, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

-129, 35 CUSA

FIU

-138, 44 CUSA

Florida Atlantic

FIU

2019 FAU Men's Basketball vs Old Dominion

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

1/27/2019 12:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Fla. - (Jan. 26, 2019) – Three days after losing to FIU, the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team earned its revenge with an 89-72 win over the Panthers on Saturday night. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and improved the Owls' record to 12-9 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA.

The Start

The Panthers (13-8, 4-4) started fast, taking a quick 8-2 lead at the 16:34 mark. FAU scored seven straight points to take a 9-8 edge. The two teams exchanged momentum for the next several minutes before FIU went on a 7-0 run of its own to stretch its lead to 27-17.

The Turning Point

The Owls clawed their way back and after a Kevaughn Ellis block led to an Anthony Adger three that just beat the horn, held a 43-42 lead at the break. That momentum carried over to the second half, when FAU opened on an 18-3 spurt to stretch its margin to 16, 61-45.

The Finish

FIU was able to narrow the deficit to five, 71-66, but the Owls scored 17 of the game's next 19 points to foil any hopes of a Panther comeback.

Notables

· With the triumph, the Owls matched last year's win total

· Anthony Adger led FAU with 26 points, in addition to grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists and nabbing two steals

· Michael Forrest amassed 22 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and picking four steals

· Xavian Stapleton collected 20 points and four rebounds, giving the Owls three players with 20 points in a game for the first time since Jan. 15, 2015 against WKU

· Despite not scoring, Kevaughn Ellis was singled out by Head Coach Dusty May for his effort on the defensive end

Quotable

FAU Head Coach Dusty May

"We really struggled the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game, but were able to stay just close enough and made a run right before halftime. Then we were able to come out and play our best basketball for the first five to 10 minutes of the second half."

Looking Ahead

FAU returns to the Burrow on Thursday, Jan. 31 to host Louisiana Tech. Thursday is Brew Night at the Burrow/Military Appreciation Night. Brew Night begins at 5 p.m., with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on fausports.com. Live audio can be heard on ESPN 106.3 FM. In-game updates will also be available at twitter.com/FAU_Hoops.