Florida Atlantic men’s basketball needed a late second-half run to put away the Ave Maria Gyrenes 72-59 Thursday night.

Ave Maria (1-9) took a brief four-point lead (their only lead of the game) midway through the second half before a 9-0 run helped FAU (2-5) recapture the lead they held previously during the entire first half.

FAU ran much of their second half offense through freshman forward Jesse Hill.

“It made me feel good,” Hill said about being the focal point of the offense. “[Ave Maria] couldn’t really stop me.”

Hill, who scored eight second-half points, finished the game with a career-high 11 points along with five rebounds.

“I think a lot of post [players] will have a problem guarding [Hill],” said head men’s basketball coach Michael Curry. “He’s very good. He can score the ball, he can shoot and he’s quick.”

Sophomore center C.J. Turman added 12 points and six rebounds to contribute to Hill’s effort in the Owls’ frontcourt.

“[Hill] and C.J., right now, are our two post players that can post up and really score,” said Curry. According to him, Turman has been double teamed in every game this season.

The Owls held a game-high 12-point lead in the first half thanks in part to a 10-0 run led by junior guard Adonis Filer and senior guard Jackson Trapp, who made his first four shots of the game. The two finished the half with 10 points each. Filer also recorded five first half rebounds.

Filer finished the game with a team-high 17 points, while Trapp, who made two free throws in the closing moments, failed to register a single second half field goal. He finished with 12 points on six shots.

Ave Maria answered FAU’s first half run with an 8-0 run for themselves. The Gyrenes scored 11 first half points off nine FAU turnovers, helping them stay in the game early.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes,” said Hill.

The Gyrenes’ leading scorer, senior guard Julian Adams, finished with a game high of 20 points.

FAU will travel to the University of Central Florida for their next game on Thursday, their first of five straight games away from Boca Raton. Notably, UCF’s Tacko Fall is currently the tallest player in the NCAA, standing at 7 feet 6 inches.

“Our ball movement is going to be the key [to beating UCF],” Curry said.

Brendan Feeney is a contributing writer for the University Press. To contact him on this or other stories, he can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.