Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

MIAMI, FL - A hot shooting opponent once again proved too much to overcome as the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team fell to rival Florida International 69-58.

The Golden Panthers shot 11-19 from three-point range in the game, including 9-11 in the first half. FIU lost all three of last season's meetings, including an overtime loss in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in a game that was played in FAU Arena.

The Owls (4-11, 0-4) took an early one point lead as Carderro Nwoji scored the first seven FAU points. A 24-5 FIU run gave the Golden Panthers a 30-12 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first half. FAU cut the lead to a dozen late in the first half on a Brett Royster three-point play. However, an Alex Galindo three pointer just before the break gave FIU a 41-23 lead at the half.

FAU came out at the start of the second half with renewed determination and used their full court press to make a dent in their halftime deficit. The Owls cut the FIU lead to as little as eight, trailing 58-50 with 6:40 remaining. The Golden Panthers scored the next five points to push the lead back to 13 and put the game out of reach for FAU.

Brett Royster had a career-high 10 points and six rebounds for the Owls. FAU returns to action on Wednesday, January 9 when they travel to Middle Tennessee to take on the Blue Raiders. Live audio of the game will available on fausports.com and WMEN-640AM.