Two teams took the court in Columbus on Sunday night looking for their first Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
The No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic Owls will travel to New York for that, as they defeated No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 78-70 to stop Cinderella’s trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The FDU Knights came out hot in the second half, outscoring FAU 12-1 after taking a five-point lead after going down by seven. The game, a fast-paced battle between the two teams, would go back and forth, but it was FAU that consistently had the answer for the Knights.
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Demetre Roberts #2 of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights drives to the basket against Bryan Greenlee #4 of the Florida Atlantic Owls in the second half during their second round game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 19, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. . (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Once FDU started to buckle, FAU broke them.
In the final five minutes, the Owls’ leading scorer, Johnell Davis, took over and ensured they punched their ticket to the Big Apple. Davis hit two consecutive jumpers to put the Owls up, 65-58, and also hit two free throws.
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Demetre Roberts, who had a solid showing to lead the FDU Knights in the second half, caught a bit of a cold during the stretch. And after a big triple by Bryan Greenlee to put FAU up by eight, Davis made a steal on the ensuing FDU drive.
FDU never had enough, as Ansley Almonor hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six, but in the end FAU made two more free throws and held on for the win.
Davis finished the game with 29 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double while also playing well defensively. He had five steals to lead his team.
Grant Singleton #4 of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights celebrates a basket against the Florida Atlantic Owls during the second half of an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round game at Nationwide Arena on March 19, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Alijah Martin dropped 14 points for the Owls, and eight FAU players scored in the game. It’s a deep team that gets contributions from all over, which is why they were able to run with FDU’s hyper-aggressive pace all night.
Roberts went 8-of-22 from the field for 20 points, but missed 10 of his 12 three-pointers, which could have made a big difference. FDU also struggled to start the game, missing some easy chances at the rim.
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Sean Moore, the Knights’ Swiss army knife in Friday’s big win over No. 1 Purdue, had 14 points, and Joe Munden Jr. had 13 on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.
The Knights were trying to become the first team to advance to the Sweet 16 as the No. 16 seed. Although they came up short, they made history as only the second team to win first place to advance to the tournament. It was also the first Northeastern Conference championship win by any team.
Alijah Martin #15 of the Florida Atlantic Owls celebrates a basket against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights during the second half of an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round game at Nationwide Arena on March 19, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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In the end, though, FAU, 32-3 on the year and quite the ride, will be ready to face No. 4 Tennessee on Thursday as they hope to keep their Cinderella dreams alive.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.