Close — but not close enough.
FAU lost to UM 93-90 in double-overtime at the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at the Bank Atlantic Center despite a career high 27 points from freshman guard Omari Grier in place of the injured Greg Gantt.
Gantt was held out due to an injured ankle, FAU head coach Mike Jarvis said afterwards.
“You play the game to win it, and [to] be that close it shows a lot of character in our team,” FAU guard Ray Taylor said. “But it hurts that much more, especially when we’ve been losing close like this all year.”
In the end, the Owls earned the respect of their opponents.
“Kudos to FAU for this game today,” UM center Reggie Johnson said. ”I didn’t expect this coming in, but it was a great game”.
After a slow start for FAU, the team battled back to tie the game 13-13 early in the first half of play.
The Hurricanes scored a layup at the first half buzzer off an inbounds pass, as it led the Owls 34-30 at halftime.
The Owls started out strong in the second half as point guard Ray Taylor hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 35.
Later in the game forward Kore White hit a 3-pointer to give the team a 51-49 lead. FAU guard Alex Tucker made a fast break layup and the ensuing free throw tied the score at 54 with 8:48 to go in the second half.
The last three minutes of the second half saw the Owls hit two 3-pointers — one of them by forward Kore White, to bring FAU within two by a score of 64-62.
With the score 72-69, FAU coach Mike Jarvis took a timeout with 10.7 seconds left in the game.
Omari Grier hit a 3-pointer over two defenders at the buzzer to tie the game at 72, sending the game into overtime. Regulation would not be enough to decide this game, though, as the game was sent into a five minute overtime.
The extra session began with guard Alex Tucker scoring the first two points with free throws for the Owls to take the lead 74-72. Guard Ray Taylor then hit a key 3-pointer to give FAU a one point lead 77-76 with 1:37 to go in overtime. The Hurricanes responded with a 3-pointer by forward Kenny Kadji to give the Hurricanes a two point lead, 77-79.
The game was eventually sent into double-overtime as the Hurricanes missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer by guard Durand Scott, and a put-back by center Reggie Johnson at the buzzer failed to go in.
FAU was given one last chance to send the game into a third overtime, when Malcom Grant missed two free throws with eight seconds left in double-overtime. FAU guard Pablo Bertone grabbed the rebound and swung the ball to Ray Taylor.
Taylor then took a 3-pointer from beyond the arc and the ball bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
FAU’s next game is Thursday Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. at Harvard.
