Panthers lose to Owls on last second free-throws

Malcolm Shields

sports@fiusm.com

The last three of four meetings between the Owls and Panthers have been decided by five points or less. There was no surprise that their match-up on Jan. 21 came down to the final minutes at U.S. Century Bank Arena. A controversial call in the final seconds propelled the Owls to snatch a 66-64 victory.

Jeremy Allen finished with 20 points, DeJuan Wright followed with 14 points and four rebounds and Dominique Ferguson finished with 14 points and five rebounds for FIU.

“It came down to a situation at the end of the game where they went to the line and made free-throws to end the game,” Head Coach Isiah Thomas said. “It was a terrible way to lose the game.”

With the game tied at 57 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Owls went on a 5-0 run to take a 62-57 lead with 1:58 remaining. After consecutive turnovers by both teams, the Panthers had the ball with 52.3 seconds remaining in the game down five.

After a FAU foul, Taylor converted on two free-throws. The Panthers tried to use the full court press, but the Owls quickly converted to regain its five-point lead. In a mad rush up the court, Allen pulled up from the top of the key and drilled a three-pointer to cut the Owls lead to 64-62 with 27 seconds remaining.

Shavar Richardson traveled which gave the ball to FIU with 20 seconds remaining. Phil Taylor drew a foul with 11.2 seconds in the game and converted on both free-throws to tie the game. With 0.6 seconds remaining Gregg Gantt was fouled on a three-point attempt by Wright. Gantt converted on two of three free-throws to seal the win for Florida Atlantic (8-12, 4-3 SBC).

After the game, there was no conscience on the final play. When asked if he fouled Gantt, Wright responded, “No.” When Gantt was asked if there was a foul, responded, “Yeah, he fouled me… On my wrist.”

Allen continued his scoring spree as he recorded his fifth 20-plus point game on the season. For most of the game, the Panthers (5-14, 2-5 SBC) struggled to contain the inside and outside play of the Owls. Jordan McCoy, Raymond Taylor and Gantt combined accounted for 51 of the Owls 64 points in the game.

“It’s a rivalry game. It is not as big as Duke versus [North] Carolina, but to us it is.” Raymond said.

The Panthers next game will be at home on Jan. 28 against Western Kentucky.