FAU men’s basketball (7-6) continued their season in High Point, N.C. with a 55-52 loss against High Point University (HPU) (6-6) on Tuesday night. 

The Owls had a slow start going 0-5 from the field in the first two and a half minutes of the game. However, they turned it around and hit their next six out of 10 shots to lead 14-11 with 12 minutes left in the first half.

HPU came back to tie it 19-19 with seven minutes remaining, converting three of their eight attempts in a five-minute span.

FAU led 27-26 at halftime, following a last second pull-up three-pointer from freshman guard Alijah Martin.

The Owls shot 35% from the field in the first half, while the Panthers shot 39.3% from the field. HPU went 0-4 at the free-throw line during the first half while FAU connected one out of two from there.

FAU faltered in the second half on both ends, while HPU took over on both ends of the court.

FAU’s last lead of the game was at the seven-minute mark of the second half and they weren’t able to reclaim it again, staying winless on the road.

“The [away games] are always tough, and when you look around college basketball, I think everyone prefers home games,” head coach Dusty May said. “We haven’t proved that we’re tough enough to go on the road and win. To win on the road, you have to be extremely mentally tough.”

Sophomore guard Bryan Greenlee led FAU with 14 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Martin helped out with 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks of his own.

Sophomore guard Jaden House led HPU with 14 points, six rebounds, and one assist. Redshirt freshman forward Zack Austin contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and one steal.

Being down a few key players, May spoke about how it’s been affecting the lineup while the team finds its rhythm for conference play.

“We have to figure out a way to settle in on a rotation [that] guys know when they’re gonna play, when they’re not gonna play, but that’s been so difficult with players in and out of the lineup,” May said. 

The Owls will play their next game in the Burrow at Abessinio Court against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. It will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Angel Rassi is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @arassi2000.