BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Jan. 18, 2020) – Despite a game-high 19 points from Cornelius Taylor, the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team (12-7, 4-2 Conference USA) fell to UAB 68-65 on Saturday.
UAB (12-7, 3-2 C-USA) led 29-21 at the half, but the Owls needed just five and a half minutes to tie the score at 35-35. Taylor hit the equalizing 3-pointer at the 14:37 mark. Taylor made another triple with 7:37 to go in the game, this one giving FAU a 49-48 lead. The Blazers responded with a 3-pointer of their own, retaking a 51-49 edge.
The two teams stayed within a possession of each other for the rest of the game, including three more ties. The final tie came at 57-57 with 4:35 to play, after yet another 3-pointer from Taylor. UAB was able to take a three-point lead, 61-58, with 2:34 remaining. A pair of Richardson Maitre free throws cut the margin to one.
UAB split a pair at the line, when Taylor’s fifth 3-pointer of the day gave the Owls a 63-62 advantage with 1:26 on the clock. The Blazers scored four points in a row to take a 66-63 lead with just 14 seconds to play. Jailyn Ingram drew a foul and made two free throws to pull FAU to within a point, 66-65, with six seconds on the clock.
FAU committed a foul and UAB missed both free throws. A turnover forced the Owls to foul again; this time, the Blazers made two free throws to go up 68-65. FAU had a chance at a game-tying three, but the attempt was offline.
Notables
- All of Taylor’s 19 points came in the second half. He also had three assists, one rebound and a steal
- Maitre scored 16 points, pulled down four rebounds, had four assists, one block and a steal
- Ingram posted 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals
- For the second game in a row, the Owls scored more than 40 points in the second half. FAU scored 44 in the second half on Saturday, after scoring 48 in the second half on Thursday night
Quotables
FAU graduate guard Cornelius Taylor
On the team’s 44-point second half…
“We knew we had to get out in transition because (UAB) is a good halfcourt defensive team. Getting out in transition was the biggest thing.”
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
“We played with more energy and more desire in the second half defensively.”
On Cornelius Taylor’s 19 second half points…
“Our guys did a good job of screening for him, getting him open (and) finding him. He made the plays. He’s a good player. He’s done this his entire career. He’s an explosive scorer. He does it in practice, he does it in workouts and he does it pretty religiously in games.”
What’s Next
FAU will travel to Charlotte on Thursday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at fausports.com. The game can be heard on FOX Sports 640AM. 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 4-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 52-28 victory over SMU in the 2019 Cheribundi 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, visitwww.fau.edu.
