JACKSONVILLE – Five Owls scored in double figures and the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team clamped down on defense in the final seconds to defeat North Florida 79-77 at the UNF Arena Monday night.
In a game that saw 12 lead changes and seven tie scores, the Owls led by seven, 78-71 on a Karlis Silins bucket with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. But UNF (0-6) sandwiched 3-pointers around a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line from Everett Winchester to pull within two, 79-77.
FAU (3-2) had a chance to ice it at the free-throw line, where they were just 11-of-21 for the game and 2-of-9 in the second half. Two Michael Forrest shots from the charity stripe didn’t fall with 18 seconds remaining. But the Owls locked up on defense and UNF’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer never had a chance.
“They were going to try to go high-low and because JI (Jailyn Ingram) switched so aggressively, the guard wasn’t able to be comfortable enough to stop and feed the post ,” FAU head coach Dusty May said of the final defensive possession. “Our other guys stayed disciplined on their shooters. (Ingram’s) aggressiveness blew that play up. I think they were trying to go high-low to play in overtime.”
The FAU victory was the first non-conference loss at home for UNF since 2016.
Silins led the way for the Owls in the scoring column, matching his career-best with 19 points. Meanwhile, Ingram recorded the first double-double of the season for FAU – and the ninth of his career – with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Forrest added 12 points, while Bryan Greenlee scored 11 and Kenan Blackshear added 10 to round out the double-figure scorers for FAU.
FAU used a 12-0 run late in the first half to open up a 42-30 advantage and looked to take control. But UNF, which hit 15 3-pointers in the contest, used the long ball to stay in it. The Ospreys hit five from long range in the final four minutes of the first half to pull within two, 41-39.
UNF added four more triples in the first four minutes of the second half to go on top by six, 56-50. A 7-0 spurt from FAU, sparked by an Ingram 3-pointer put the Owls back in front by one with 14 minutes to play. Neither team led by more than four over the next nine minutes.
A Greenlee 3-pointer put FAU up by six, 73-67 with five minutes remaining. A Blackshear triple pushed the lead to seven, 78-71 with 1:59 left.
Four Ospreys scored in double figures, paced by Jose Placer, who tallied 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Emmanuel Adedoyin hit five from long range for 15 points for UNF.
Quoting Coach May
On Karlis Silins:
“Karlis was very, very good tonight. He had a great week of practice. He looks like he’s getting his conditioning back. He’s been more determined and more aggressive around the basket … and I think this is just the beginning of what we’re going to see out of big Karlis.”
On getting a tough road victory at UNF:
“It feels great seeing just to see our guys stick together through adversity. We responded very well when they made their runs. It’s a game of runs, especially when you’re playing an offensively gifted and talented team like North Florida. I thought our guys really responded. They never dropped their heads. They never looked like there was any doubt that we were going to find a way.”
On Tap The Owls travel to Raleigh, N.C. for a road matchup with the North Carolina State Wolfpack Saturday.
