FAU men’s basketball avoided losing its third straight game thanks to senior guard Justin Massey’s game winning  3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Rice 63-62.

Rice guard Connor Cashaw hit a jumper with three seconds on the clock to give Rice a 62-60 lead.The Owls took a time out and Massey came back down the court to hit the game winning 3-pointer as the clock hit zero

The assist on the play came from Payton Hulsey, who led the team in assists with five.The Owls and Rice went back and forth in the second half of Saturday’s game with nine lead changes during that time.

Senior center Ronald Delph led the team with 20 points while Massey scored 18 points and senior guard Gerdarius Troutman putting up 10 points.

The Owls led 30 to 22 at the half. FAU control of the backboard helped contribute to the lead, with senior  forward William Pfister having eight rebounds in the first half

He finished the game with 11 rebounds.

FAU had a slow start to the second half ,with Rice going on a 12-3 run to start off. Massey and Delph hit a couple of free throws and jump shots after the run to get the Owls back in the game.

The Florida Owls shot 82 percent from the free throw line, which played a big part in the win. Eight of their points came from the free throw line in the second half.

Rice did have a better field goal (42.4 percent to 40 percent)  and three point percentage ( 34.8 and 31.6 respectively ) than FAU in the loss. Cashsaw led Rice in scoring with 16 points.

The Owls return to Boca Raton to face Louisian Tech on Thursday, February 1 at 7p.m.

Ciara Boykins is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].