NORFOLK, Va. (March 1, 2020) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit to force overtime, but came short in the extra session, falling to Old Dominion 85-80 on Sunday. The Owls are now 16-14 overall and 8-9 in Conference USA play.
Xavier Green made a layup at the 15:13 mark of the second half that extended the Monarchs’ (12-17, 8-8 C-USA) lead to 49-38. Richardson Maitre and Cornelius Taylor each hit 3-pointers to cut the margin to five, then Aleksandar Zecevic scored three straight baskets to give FAU its first lead of the day, 50-49, with just over 11 minutes to play.
The lead changed hands six times over the next three and a half minutes, before ODU scored 10 unanswered points to go up 66-57 with 3:59 remaining. Jailyn Ingram kicked off the Owls’ rally with a three-point play. Zecevic scored his fifth basket of the half to cut the deficit to 66-62 with 2:39 to play. After a Monarch turnover, Ingram scored on a layup to bring FAU to within a basket.
ODU hit a jumper to go back up by four. Michael Forrest scored on a driving layup, then nabbed a steal, which ultimately led to an Ingram layup that tied the score, 68-68, with 12 seconds to play. After a dead ball, Madiaw Niang stole the ball and gave the Owls a chance to end the game in regulation, but the inbound pass was errant, forcing a FAU turnover. The Monarchs had a look at the game-winner, but the shot missed.
In the extra session, Taylor made a layup, putting the Owls ahead 70-68 just 16 seconds into overtime. However, ODU answered with a 12-3 run and the Owls were unable to mount another comeback attempt.
Notables
- Ingram led FAU with 19 points, giving him 1,020 for his career, good for 10th place in school history
- Taylor scored 11 points and matched his season high with six assists to go along with five rebounds
- Forrest notched 10 points, three rebounds and two steals
- Zecevic tallied all 10 of his points in the second half
Quotable
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
“I thought we competed well…I thought we blocked out, we just didn’t pursue the ball aggressively enough to win games like this.”
What’s Next
FAU will wrap up the regular season at Marshall on Wednesday, March 4. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on Stadium via Facebook, live stats will be available at fausports.com, and 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, visit www.fau.edu.
