Contact: Stan Cole

Florida Atlantic Rallies Late for 95-90 Atlantic Sun Win Over Campbell

BOCA RATON, FLA. – Florida Atlantic closed the game on a 10-2 run and defeated Campbell 95-90 Thursday night in Atlantic Sun Conference action at FAU Gymnasium.

In a see-saw battle that saw the lead change 22 times and the score tied on 14 other occasions, the Owls had the final run that ended Campbell's 2-game win streak.

After Ledell Eackles 3-pointer put the Camels in front 88-85 with 2:02 remaining, the Camels did not score again until Eackles' lay-in with 2 seconds left provided the final margin. Campbell committed four turnovers during its last six possessions as the Owls (10-10, 9-4) rallied to end a 3-game slide.

Quinton Young led five FAU players in double figures with 20 points, hitting 6-of-9 threes. Carlos Monroe came off the bench to add 19 on 8-of-13 shooting, plus 7 rebounds. Rodney Webb had 16 and 9 boards, while Kevin Green added 13 (3-of-4 threes) and DeAndre Rice 10.

Junior Eric Smith topped Campbell with a career-high 31 points, hitting 8-of-16 threes, to go along with 4 assists. Maurice Latham added 17, plus 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year, and Ledell Eackles chipped in 15 and five assists.

Campbell, which entered the game ranked 3rd nationally in scoring offense, and 3-point field goals per game, hit the 90-point marker for the third-straight outing and matched its season-high with 14 triples. Through 21 games, Campbell is averaging 83.7 points and tossing in 9.9 threes per outing.

The Fighting Camels (8-13, 7-7) led 80-73 when Diego Aguiar scored underneath with 6:41 to play, but FAU answered with an 11-0 run to regain the lead.

Last month in a 97-88 victory at Buies Creek, FAU shot 72 percent in the opening period and led by 16 (57-41) at the half.

On Thursday, the Owls again were hot from the field, canning 64.3 percent (18-28) of their first-half attempts, but the Camels made 8-of-17 threes over the same span and trailed by just two (48-46) at the break.

FAU finished the game shooting 55.9 percent (33-59) from the floor, and hit 11-of-18 threes (.611), while making 18-of-28 (.643) from the foul line. Campbell connected on 50.8 percent (33-65) of its shots, 14-of-31 from long range (.452) and 10-of-15 from the stripe. The Camels held a 36-30 advantage on the glass.

Latham saw his string of four-consecutive 20-plus point games come to an end, but the senior forward from Norfolk, Va., did notch his 3rd-consecutive double-double to raise his season averages to 17.5 points and 8.6 rebounds.

Smith, a 6-foot-1 guard from Chicago, who entered the game ranked 6th nationally in 3-pointers made per contest, has canned 21-of-38 (.553) triples over the last three games and is averaging 26.3 points during the stretch.

Campbell is off until next Thursday (Feb. 9) when the Fighting Camels travel to East Tennessee State for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off. [ Box Score ]