Florida Atlantic 77, Florida International 60
Freshman Stefan Moody and senior Andre Mattison both recorded career highs to lead the Florida Atlantic Owls to a 77-60 victory over the Florida International Golden Panthers Saturday night in Sun Belt Conference basketball.
Moody scored 28 points, topping his previous best by two, and Mattison reached double figures for just the third time in his career with 14 points.
He also had a career-high 10 rebounds in replacing usual starter Jordan McCoy, who sat out with an injured ankle. Greg Gantt added 16 points.
The Owls (14-17, 9-11) trailed 31-30 at the intermission but dominated the second half, jumping out to a 12-point lead, 48-36, less than six minutes into the period.
The Panthers (16-13, 11-9) managed to cut their deficit down to six points, but FAU's Gantt responded with a quick five points and Pablo Bertone hit a layup to get the Owls' lead back to 13.
FIU got that deficit down to eight with under eight minutes to play but could get no closer. The Owls closed the game on a 17-8 run.
The win earned the Owls the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament. They will play Troy in the first round Friday night in Hot Springs, Ark.
Despite the loss, FIU will have a first-round bye as a No. 5 or 6 seed.
