Florida Atlantic men’s basketball (17-13, 9-8 AC) defeated the Charlotte 49ers (15-14, AC 9-7) with a buzzer-beater in overtime at the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena by guard Josiah Parker, 77-76, in their last home game of the season. This win clinched FAU’s spot in the American Conference Championship Tournament.
FAU now leads 12-7 all-time against Charlotte, with FAU winning the last four meetings.
FAU was without their leading scorer, Devin Vanterpool, due to injury; he’s averaging 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds on the season. Guard Isaiah Elohim was back after missing FAU’s last game against Temple on Thursday night due to injury.
Charlotte guard Ben Bradford and center Anton Bonke both nearly played the entire game, and both led their team in scoring at 20 points. FAU guard Kanaan Carlyle led the Owls in scoring with 19 points, and forward Maxim Logue had a 16-point double-double with three steals and two blocks.
The 49ers controlled the game throughout the first half as they started with a 12-0 run after Carlyle’s two 3-pointers. This run was primarily fueled by Bonke and Bradford, as they scored multiple baskets in the paint.
In the first half, Charlotte as a team was shooting 50% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc, and 90% from the free-throw line.
With their offensive struggles and defensive lapses, FAU were down 45-35 at the end of the first half. Charlotte’s Bonke put up 14 points and seven rebounds, while Bradford put up 12 points. The Owls had four turnovers and 11 fouls. Charlotte capitalized, shooting 14/16 from the free-throw line.
“This is the second time in two games where we went into halftime and changed our defensive plan,” said FAU Head Coach John Jakus, regarding their struggles in the first half. “But once it got going and our intensity picked up, we held them to 34% in the second half.”
Charlotte started the second half with their largest lead of the game at 51-37. However, FAU kick-started a 17-1 run after an alley-oop dunk from Parker and a three-pointer from Carlyle to take their first lead since the first quarter at 60-57 with 7:17 remaining in the second half.
Charlotte struggled from the field, hitting two of their last 10 shots during the later part of the second half. FAU traded a few buckets with Charlotte for the last minute of the second half.
FAU’s Xander Pintelon hit a huge three to give FAU the lead at 69-66 with 59 seconds remaining in the second half. Charlotte guard Damon Harrison hit a game-tying three with 3.6 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, FAU and Charlotte traded baskets until the final minute, when the lead changed three times, concluding in a game-winning layup made by Josiah Parker, putting FAU up 77-76 and clinching the victory.
“The fan base is awesome throughout the game,” said FAU guard Josiah Parker, “I feel like the fans got louder when the game got closer, so we went on that run, and these guys helped us go on that run.”
FAU will hit the road and travel to the Charles Koch Arena to face the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday, March 7; tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Levi Hylton is a Contributing Writer for the University Press. For more information on this and other stories, email him at [email protected]
