FAU men’s basketball (12-9, 5-3 C-USA) finished a two-game roadtrip in Texas, beating the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners (8-14, 1-8 C-USA) 73-64 Saturday afternoon.

The first half was tough for the Owls. While they held the lead for over 13 minutes, they missed plenty of shots as they went 10-26 from the field for an accuracy of 38.5%.

With 2:22 left in the half, UTSA completed a 10-2 run that had FAU down 38-35. The run included back-to-back three-pointers, with the latter being a buzzer-beater from Jordan Ivy-Curry.

The Owls executed better in the second half. They did so by scoring 10 unanswered points in a span of 2:38 to go up 53-47 against the Roadrunners. Freshman guard Johnell Davis had seven of those 10 points while playing solid defense against opposing matchups.

In the final four minutes of the game leading 65-64, FAU came through as the team went on an 8-0 run to shut out UTSA for the victory. After the Roadrunners made their last basket with 3:18 left, they missed their last nine shots as they were unable to keep up with the Owls.

“We got the loose balls, we battled. We were physical with our block-outs. It was winning time, the guys found ways to win. And I want to give the credit of this win to our bench,” head coach Dusty May said.

Free-throws became the determining factor in the Owls getting the win. While UTSA shot 6-13 from the stripe for a struggling 46.2%, FAU made 22 out of 26 attempts there with an efficiency of 84.6%.

Four players scored in double-digits for the Owls. Sophomore guard Bryan Greenlee and freshman guard Alijah Martin combined for 32 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Davis led the bench in scoring with 15 points and getting six rebounds and two steals, while junior guard Michael Forrest finished with 12 points and three rebounds and steals each.

As for the Roadrunners, Ivy-Curry had a game-high 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists but shot 7-24 from the field for a struggling rate of 29.2%. Junior center Jacob Germany was the last Roadrunner to score in double figures as he had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while blocking two shots.

The Owls will return home to the Burrow at Abessinio Court as they take on Louisiana Tech on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Richard Pereira is the Business Manager for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.