Webb Scores Career-High 30 against ETSU :: Owls get biggest win of year against Bucs

Feb. 16, 2006

BOCA RATON, FL - Rodney Webb scored a career-high 30 points as the Florida Atlantic men's basketball team got its biggest win of the year 93-87 over East Tennessee State on Thursday evening at FAU Arena.

The win keeps FAU (12-12, 11-6 A-Sun) tied for fourth in the Atlantic Sun standings with Gardner-Webb, which surprised Belmont 74-66 on Thursday. Belmont (12-5 A-Sun) had been tied for first with Lipscomb, which moved to 13-4 in the conference and took sole possession of first place with an 80-68 victory over Campbell.

Webb scored 21 points in the second half and hit nine-of-10 at the free throw line after the break. He also had a career-best 10 points on charity tosses.

Webb's 30 points is a new season high for any individual player this season, surpassing the 29 points scored by DeAndre Rice on Dec. 4 against Jacksonville.

FAU had a season-high 26 assists, a new high in the last three seasons against Division I opponents. For the first time in that three-year span, four different Owls had five assists or more.

DeAndre Rice scored 23 points and matched his career best with six assists. Paul Graham totaled 12 points and a career-best five assists, while Brent Crews had a game-high eight assists.

The Owls hit a season-best 20-of-24 at the free throw line and outscored ETSU by 14 points at the stripe. FAU shot 54.1% from the field, its highest mark in the last four games.

"It feels great to get a win again, especially against a team of this caliber," said head coach Matt Doherty. "We played so well and adapted to East Tennessee's defense so quickly that I probably only called about nine plays on the night. We really took advantage of what was given to us."

Courtney Pigram topped ETSU (15-10, 12-6 A-Sun) with 22 points, while Dillion Sneed had 20 points and 15 rebounds. The Bucs hit six-of-10 at the line.

FAU is now guaranteed no less than fifth seed for the A-Sun Tournament. The Owls are back in action on Saturday evening in their final home game of the season, facing Kennesaw State at 7:00 p.m. at FAU Arena.