CHARLESTON, S.C. – (March 21, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team overcame a 12-point first half deficit, but came up just short against Charleston Southern, losing 68-66 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Thursday night. The Owls finish the year with a 17-16 record, their first winning season since 2010-11.
The Start
FAU scored the first five points of the game, but the Buccaneers (18-15) scored the next nine to take a four-point lead. Michael Forrest hit a three-pointer that regained the lead for the Owls, 16-15. CSU responded once again, this time with 13 unanswered points, to go up 28-16 with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. It was FAU’s turn to mount a charge, and Xavian Stapleton converted a triple that trimmed the Owls’ deficit to two, 32-30, with 40 seconds left in the stanza. A pair of Buccaneer free throws made the score 34-30 at the break.
The Turning Point
CSU made the first two baskets of the second half, stretching its lead to 38-30. Karlis Silins hit a jumper, followed by a three-pointer by Madiaw Niang to cut the margin to three. Then, Anthony Adger stepped up and scored the next six FAU points, helping the Owls regain a 41-40 edge. Neither side held a lead larger than five points for the next 10 minutes of game action, as the two teams battled for control of the action.
The Finish
CSU held an eight-point lead, 66-58, with 3:40 to go in the contest, but another Adger three and a Stapleton steal and dunk narrowed the Owls’ deficit to three with 1:16 remaining. A Buccaneer score was quickly followed by another Stapleton basket, this one from behind the arc to close the gap to two, 68-66, with 51 seconds remaining. Each team made a defensive stop, followed by CSU missing a pair from the free throw line with 11 seconds to go. The Owls had a look at a potential game-winner, but the shot was short, allowing the Buccaneers to escape with the win.
Notables
· Anthony Adger led the Owls with 17 points. He made four three-pointers in the game, giving him 93 for the season, the second highest single-season total in FAU history
· Michael Forrest scored 15 points and dished out six assists, tying his career-high
· Xavian Stapleton came off the bench to score 14 points and grab five rebounds in his final game as an Owl
· Adger finished the season with 513 points, good for eighth place in FAU single-season history
· Adger also etched his name is the program’s record book for career free-throw percentage (third place, .822)
· The Owls had 30 rebounds on Thursday night. FAU finishes the year with a school record 1,296 rebounds as a team. FAU’s 39.3 rebounds per game is its highest average since moving to the Division I level
· FAU made 11 three-pointers in the game, increasing its season total to 290, another school record
· FAU eclipsed yet another school record by shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line as a unit
· As a team, the Owls poured in 2,322 points, the second best single-season total in school history
Quotable
FAU Head Coach Dusty May
“(Charleston Southern) was quicker to the ball. They were the more energetic team.”
On this season…
“We have good pieces, but our internal expectations are very high. We’re very excited about where this team and this program can go in the near future.”
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.
