Johnell Davis poured in 26 points, Alijah Martin scored 25 and No. 19 Florida Atlantic topped No. 12 Texas A&M 96-89 in the semifinal round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday in Kissimmee, Fla.
Jalen Gaffney and Bryan Greenlee added 12 points apiece while Vladislav Goldin and Brandon Weatherspoon finished with 10 apiece to fuel a balanced attack for the Owls (4-1).
Wade Taylor IV scored a career-high 35 points for the Aggies (5-1), who trailed by as many as 18 in the second half but got as close as 75-71 with 5:52 left after a layup by Taylor, who made five 3-pointers. Hayden Heffner scored 14 and Manny Obaseki chipped in 13 points.
Texas A&M played the second half without Henry Coleman III, who scored eight but suffered an apparent leg injury with 3:03 to play in the first half while making a move in the lane.
The Owls led 46-44 at the half. Gaffney made two 3-pointers to open the second half and stretch FAU’s lead to 52-44.
Davis extended the lead to 60-47 with 17:07 to play after burying two 3-pointers in a span of 37 seconds on a day when FAU tied a school record with 16 3-pointers as a team and won its second in a row. Davis was 6-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Eight ties and four lead changes highlighted the opening half.
Hefner had the hot hand early for the Aggies, drilling three 3-pointers, including one with 8:42 left that put the Aggies up 28-25.
Martin punctuated a 15-0 run with his fifth 3-pointer, giving the Owls a 40-28 advantage with 5:38 left.
Taylor ended the run with a shot from distance at the 5:26 mark and hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final 1:30 that trimmed the FAU lead to 46-42.
FAU moves on to play either Iowa State or Virginia Tech for the championship. Texas A&M will play the loser of that game in the consolation final. Both games are Sunday.
–Field Level Media