National Basketball Association
Florida Atlantic 72, East Carolina 63
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Where: FAU Arena, Boca Raton, Florida
Officials:
# Rick Crawford, # Hal Lusk, # Jonathan Sterling
Attendance:
1219
By SportsDirect Inc.
Florida Atlantic 72, East Carolina 63: Justin Massey scored 17 points, draining five 3-pointers, as the host Owls turned away the Pirates.
Marquan Botley added 15 points for Florida Atlantic (3-3), which won its second straight game. C.J. Turman added 14 points for the Owls, who shot 52 percent.
Caleb White's 18 points paced the offense for the Pirates (4-4), who failed in their quest to win consecutive games for the first time this season. B.J. Tyson contributed 16 points, including 12-of-13 from the free throw line and Kanu Aja, a junior transfer from City College of San Francisco, registered 11 points, reaching double figures for the first time in an East Carolina uniform.
The Pirates established a 14-11 lead just past the midway point of the opening 20 minutes before FAU used an 18-2 run to take a 29-16 advantage with less than three minutes to play before halftime. The Owls took a 35-23 lead into the locker room, thanks to first-half contributions from throughout the lineup, including seven points from D'Andre Johnson and six apiece from four other players.
After the break, FAU rode 3-pointers from Massey on three consecutive possessions, followed by a pair of free throws from Jackson Trapp, to a 46-27 lead in the opening five minutes of the period. East Carolina was able to pull to within 66-55 on a pair of free throws from Tyson in the waning minutes but it was too little, too late as the Owls' lead was never in jeopardy.
GAME NOTEBOOK: FAU defeated East Carolina last season as well and leads the all-time series 2-1. ... The Pirates have lost five straight on the road dating back to last season. ... East Carolina F Michel-Ofik Nzege has made 10 consecutive field goals over the course of the last two games.
Top Game Performances
East Carolina |
|
Florida Atlantic |
Caleb White 18 |
Scoring |
Justin Massey 17 |
B.J. Tyson 2 |
Assists |
Marquan Botley 6 |
Michel-Ofik Nzege 7 |
Rebounds |
Kelvin Penn 6 |
B.J. Tyson 12 |
Free Throws Made |
Marquan Botley 8 |
Antonio Robinson 1 |
Steals |
Kelvin Penn 2 |
Kanu Aja 1 |
Blocks |
Kelvin Penn 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
East Carolina
|
63 |
38.8 |
3-11 |
22-24 |
8 |
26 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
Florida Atlantic
|
72 |
52.0 |
7-16 |
13-19 |
16 |
21 |
5 |
4 |
8 |