Florida Atlantic's 19-game home basketball winning streak snapped by Bryant in 61-52 upset
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic's 19-game home winning streak has ended for its men's basketball team that will drop out of the Top 10 heading into the Thanksgiving ESPN Events Invitational.
The No. 10 Owls (2-1) were upset by Bryant (2-3) on Saturday night, 61-52.
The Owls played the Bulldogs tough in the first half, but fell behind by 12 with just over five minutes to go and never rallied despite playing at home."Hats off to Bryant." said FAU coach Dusty May. "They played determined, they played well, they made the plays they needed to make, and it's a good basketball team that has faced a lot of adversity and they really came together as a group today. They were quick on the ball, great in transition, tough on the glass … Our identity has been loose basketballs, 50-50 basketballs, rebounds, long rebounds. Over the last couple of years, we were able to get a majority of those and for whatever reason it did not happen. "But this is the target everyone talks about. A team comes in that has been a little bit disjointed, they pulled together for a common cause and found a way to play a really good basketball game."
May said the Owls will learn from the loss. "We have to play better offensively and have a clear picture of what we are trying to accomplish." he said. "We thought we would see a lot of different defenses and their 3-2 just got us stagnant where we felt like we were always kind of open. ... We just have to get back to our identity, which is being a more together team."
More: Florida Atlantic falls to No. 17 Tulane 24-8
Junior guard Johnell Davis had his second career double-double, leading the team with 17 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds. The Owls play Butler on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Orlando at the State Farm Field House. "We will not let this game define us," said junior forward Giancarlo Rosado, who added 11 points.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU Owls upset by Bryant Bulldogs in college basketball action
