HATTIESBURG, Miss. – (Feb. 13, 2020) – A 21-point, eight rebound effort from Jailyn Ingram was not enough as the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team fell to Southern Miss 68-66 on Thursday night.
USM (8-18, 4-9 Conference USA) scored the first four points of the night, but the Owls (14-12, 6-7) answered with nine straight points, capped by a pair of Kenan Blackshear free throws to take a 9-4 lead. FAU’s lead increased to as many as seven before the Golden Eagles rallied to even the score at 31-31. Ingram hit a 15-foot jumper to give FAU a 33-31 advantage at the half.
The Owls were able to maintain a modest lead for the early portion of the second half. USM went on a 12-2 run, taking a 54-47 edge with nine minutes to play. The lead was eight, 63-55, with less than five minutes remaining when FAU rallied. Cornelius Taylor scored, followed by two more Aleksandar Zecevic buckets and an Ingram jumper that leveled the score at 63-63 with 2:23 on the clock. USM scored three points in a row, then Ingram made a layup, pulling FAU to within a point, 66-65, with 44 seconds remaining.
After a defensive stop, Ingram split a trip to the free throw line, tying the score with 31 seconds to play. The Owls were called for a foul with six seconds left and USM made both free throws. FAU called a timeout and had a chance at the game-winning 3-pointer, but the shot bounced off the rim, allowing USM to escape with the win.
Notables
- Ingram had his second 20-point game of the season. He had 21 points against Mercer on Dec. 22
- Zecevic scored 12 points, his third double-digit effort in FAU’s last four games
- Taylor had seven points, six rebounds and five assists
- Richardson Maitre posted six points, five assists and two rebounds
Quotable
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
“I thought we did a good job of making a run late and taking it to the wire. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to as far as loose balls and rebounding.”
What’s Next
FAU finishes its predetermined conference schedule on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Eastern. 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, visit www.fau.edu.
