MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Johnson
561-302-0461, jjohn218@fau.edu
FAU Men’s Basketball Drops Nailbiter to FIU 79-76
BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Feb. 23, 2019) – For the second time this season, the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team suffered a close home loss at the hands of its rival, falling 79-76 to FIU on Saturday. The Owls are now 16-12 on the year and 7-8 in Conference USA play.
The Start
FAU got off to a slow start on the offensive end, allowing the Panthers (17-11, 8-7) to build an early double-digit lead. The Owls trailed by as many as 16 in the first half before a modest rally trimmed the deficit to 12 at the break.
The Turning Point
The Owls came out of the locker room and immediately began chipping away even further at the Panthers’ cushion. Anthony Adger completed a 21-6 FAU run by converting a three-point play that gave FAU its first lead of the day, 45-44, with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
The Finish
FAU led by eight, 63-55, at the 6:04 mark, but missed a pair of free throws. The Panthers grabbed the rebound and immediately hit a three-pointer that cut the lead to five. That began what ended up being a 12-0 FIU run, resulting in a 70-66 Panthers’ edge with three and a half minutes to go. Adger pulled the Owls to within one after making three free throws, but FIU answered with a triple of its own. Karlis Silins a three to make the score 75-73 with nine seconds left, but the Owls couldn’t get any closer.
Notables
· Anthony Adger and Xavian Stapleton tied for the team high with 15 points each. Karlis Silins scored 13 off the bench
· Adger also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals, Stapleton posted two rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Silins grabbed five boards, dished out an assist and blocked a shot
· The Owls scored 50 points in the second half, just the second time this season they have scored that many in a half (58, second half vs. Florida Tech)
· Madiaw Niang pulled down 10 rebounds and scored six points in just 16 minutes of action
· As a team, the Owls outrebounded FIU 48-43
· Adger hit his 83rd three-pointer of the season, passing Earnest Crumbley for fifth most made in a season by a FAU player
· FAU hit nine triples as a team, extending its school record to 253 on the year
Quotable
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
“We just weren’t ready to play from the tip. We battled back and played well in the second half, really well in spurts, but just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch to win.”
Looking Ahead
FAU travels to North Texas on Thursday night to play the Mean Green. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Eastern and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Live audio can be heard on ESPN 106.3 FM.
Tickets
For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit FAUSports.com.
Social Media
For complete coverage of FAU men’s basketball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@FAU_Hoops).
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
