SAN ANTONIO, Texas (FAUSports.com) –Johnell Davis scored a career-high 15 points off the bench and the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team converted 22-of-26 free throws to take a 73-64 road win over UTSA Saturday afternoon.
Bryan Greenlee and Alijah Martin scored a team-high 16 points apiece for FAU, while Michael Forrest added 12 points to give the Owls four in double figures.
A Darius McNeill jumper capped a 10-2 UTSA run and pulled the Roadrunners within one, 65-64 with 3:18 left. But FAU stepped it up on the defensive end of the floor down the stretch. The Owls held the Roadrunners scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
“I saw it in our guys’ eyes, they were tired of coming close,” FAU head coach Dusty May said. “They dug deep and got stops. It wasn’t pretty. For UTSA to get almost 20 more shots than us, to do the work they did on the offensive glass. Credit Bitumba Baruti, Giancarlo Rosado and Nelly (Johnell Davis) on the glass. I thought those three off the bench were the difference in the game.”
Greenlee buried a 3-pointer off a Baruti offensive rebound to stretch the lead to four, 68-64 with 2:22 remaining.
“A lot of these games come down to loose balls and extra possessions,” May said. “Our biggest (3-pointer) of the game, Bitumba came up with a loose ball rebound, kicked it back out and it was a dagger 3-pointer to go up four and we never looked back. I’m very, very proud of our guys. They fought.”
Martin scored four of the last five points of the ballgame to help hold the Roadrunners at bay. Martin scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. Martin also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, matching his career-high for the third time this season.
“(Martin) is growing every game,” May said. “He wants to get better. It’s so important to him. He’s such a great teammate and great human being. He deserves this success and his best basketball is still in front of him. He’s just scratching the surface.”
A first-half that was marked by nine lead changes and seven ties ended with UTSA holding a three-point edge. FAU led by five points, 33-28, with 2:22 remaining in the half. But the Roadrunners used a 10-2 spurt, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that banked in off the glass, to take a 38-35 edge into the locker room.
UTSA was paced by Jordan Ivy-Curry, who tallied a game-high 19 points, while Jacob Germany added 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
The Owls are back in action at home Thursday night, hosting West Division-leading Lousiana Tech. Tipoff at The Burrow is slated for 7 p.m.
