FAU coach Michael Curry said he was changing his starting lineup not to demote players, but to allow them to play off their advantages.
It only took one game for the process to pay dividends.
After losing five of their first six Conference USA games, the Florida Atlantic Owls (6-13, 2-6) dominated the FIU Golden Panthers (5-16, 1-7) in the second half to complete a season sweep.
halftime with a 40-35 lead over FIU, the Owls outscored their opponent 43-30 in the final 20 minutes despite only shooting 34.4 percent from the floor.
Guards Gerdarius Troutman and Adonis Filer, the latter of whom was moved from starting shooting guard back into the sixth man role, each had 18 points to lead all scorers.
Moving Forward: Ronald Delph had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench…FAU forced 22 fouls and made 24 of their 30 free throws…Jeantal Cylla shrugged off a rough first half to finish with 16 points…FAU’s defense held FIU to 18 percent from behind the arc.
Moving Backward: Frank Booker fell back down to earth, scoring two points and racking up three fouls in ten minutes…Nick Rutherford continued to struggle from the field with a 1-7 showing…only five of FAU’s 15 three-point shots went in.
Key Stat: 30 – amount of free throws the Owls got to shoot against a foul-heavy Panthers team.
Up Next: FAU will try for their first winning streak in over two months next Thursday when they continue their three-game road trip with a showdown against the Charlotte 49ers. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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