Florida Atlantic Advances to American Championship Second Round

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, Ala.

9 p.m. ET

Florida Atlantic

18-14,9-9American

No. 10 Temple

16-16,8-10American

Temple

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: Jack Williams

Florida Atlantic Advances to American Championship Second Round

3/12/2026 12:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Competing on the opening day of the 2026 American Conference Championship, the No. 7-seeded Florida Atlantic men's basketball team defeated No. 10 Temple by a score of 63-59 on Wednesday to advance to the second round.

Leaning on a 19-point performance from redshirt junior guard Niccolo Moretti, the Owls of FAU (18-14) beat Temple (16-16) for the third time this season. Florida Atlantic built a double-digit lead in the second half and thwarted a late comeback attempt.

FIRST HALF
Back-to-back buckets from American Freshman of the Year Josiah Parker gave FAU an early lead, one that the team would have to continually earn with four ties and five lead changes in the first 10 minutes.

A pull-up three by Moretti tied the game and a hook shot from redshirt sophomore forward Devin Williams gave the FAU Owls a 23-21 lead as part of a 7-0 run.

Temple soon tied it up but a triple by junior guard Kanaan Carlyle put the lead right back into the hands of Florida Atlantic. A free throw put the FAU Owls up by four before a goaltending call cut Temple's deficit to 29-27 right before the halftime buzzer.

SECOND HALF
Carlyle put himself in double figures with a score inside to open the final period, the first of seven consecutive makes by Florida Atlantic.

An 8-0 run in a span of two minutes gave FAU a 43-35 lead. Temple closed the gap to one, but two straight three-pointers from Moretti gave the Florida Atlantic Owls room to breathe. A 9-0 run culminated in a three-point play at the rim by Williams to go up by 11 with under four minutes remaining.

Temple put together a late rally to bring the score within one possession on two occasions, but it was not enough. Moretti evaded defenders and took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup with a minute left and, with a two-point lead and four seconds remaining, Parker forced a ball out of bounds before Temple could look for a game-tying attempt.

PRESS CONFERENCE

STATS & NOTES

Moretti finished the night shooting 7-for-9 from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. He did not miss a shot while playing all 20 minutes in the second half.
Carlyle scored 12 points and recorded his fifth straight game with multiple three-pointers.
Freshman guard Yohann Sissoko collected a collegiate career-high six rebounds.
Junior forward Xander Pintelon concluded the night with a game-high +17 in 16 minutes of action.
Florida Atlantic outshot Temple 50% to 38% from the field and won the rebounding battle 37-28.
54.5% from three-point range was FAU's season-best.

UP NEXT
The Owls' quick turnaround will see them face No. 6-seeded North Texas on Thursday, March 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date on all things FAU men's basketball, follow the Owls on social media @FAUMBB.

Florida Atlantic's 205-26 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.