CORAL GABLES, Fla. – (Nov. 8, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team cut what had been a 17-point deficit down to three midway through the second half, but couldn’t get any closer, ultimately falling to the University of Miami 74-60 on Friday night. The Owls are now 1-1 on the year.
The Start
The contest was close from the start, with neither team able to gain a sizable advantage. A Cornelius Taylor jumper put the Owls ahead 22-19 at the 7:28 mark of the first half. However, the Hurricanes went on a 16-4 run to close the stanza and take a 35-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Turning Point
UM stretched the lead to 16 less than four minutes into the second half. The Owls refused to go away, and over the course of the next six minutes of game time, steadily chipped away at the margin. Taylor hit a three, followed by a pair of Madiaw Niang layups to trim FAU’s deficit to three, 51-48, with 10:29 left in the game.
The Finish
Another big UM push gave the Hurricanes a 67-50 lead with five minutes to go. The Owls couldn’t get closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Notables
- Madiaw Niang pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked three shots to go along with his seven points
- Karlis Silins scored 12 points and grabbed five boards
- Cornelius Taylor had 10 points
- As a team, the Owls outrebounded the Hurricanes 44-39
- Once again, 13 players took the court for FAU, with 11 of them scoring
Quotable
Head Coach Dusty May
“Like most young teams, I thought our offense fueled our defense. We started playing with much more of an edge. We cut it to three and had the ball, then had an untimely turnover. We had three, four, five turnovers down the stretch and (Miami) converted all of them. When we’re in an ACC gym, we can’t turn the ball over and give them easy baskets.”
What’s Next
The Owls travel to Alabama on Monday, Nov. 11. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Eastern. Links to live stats will be available at fausports.com. The game can be heard on FOX Sports 640AM. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus. Live updates will be posted to the team’s official Twitter account, @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.
