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Florida Atlantic
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vs. Florida Atlantic
3/13/2025 | 3:00 PM
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ESPN 730
Mar. 13 (Thu) / 3:00 PM
Florida Atlantic
vs. Florida Atlantic
History
FORT WORTH, Texas – Despite a hard-fought battle that featured 10 lead changes and four ties, the Charlotte 49ers (11-22) fell 64-59 to Florida Atlantic (18-14) in the second round of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Dickies Arena on Thursday (March 13) afternoon.
"We're obviously very disappointed that it came to an end, but extremely proud of the effort that the guys showed all year," said Charlotte Head Men's Basketball Coach Aaron Fearne. "I mean, phenomenal. I said it to them in the locker room—they should be extremely proud of their fight, their day-to-day professionalism to show up and work."
A two-point game with two minutes remaining, the 13th-seeded Niners went toe-to-toe with the fifth-seeded Owls. Florida Atlantic grew its lead to seven in the final minute before back-to-back baskets from Jaehshon Thomas cut the deficit to 62-59 with seven seconds left. However, the Owls made a pair of free throws to seal the game.
"We know, obviously, it was a fantastic game. I thought we got the game into the pace that we wanted it to be," said Coach Fearne. "We knew if we had to get up and down the floor, it was going to be a tough one for us with the firepower that they have. So I thought game plan-wise we did a very good job of that and we had a chance."
Both teams shot poorly from the charity stripe as the Owls went 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) from the free throw line, and the 49ers converted 12-of-20 (60 percent) attempts from the stripe. Florida Atlantic converted 57 percent (21-of-37) of its two-point attempts and 70 percent (14-of-20) at the rim, while Charlotte made 45 percent (13-of-29) of their shots from inside the arc and 46 percent (6-of-13) at the rim. The Owls outscored the Niners 42-18 in the paint.
Junior Nik Graves finished with team highs of 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Graduate student Giancarlo Rosado also pulled down seven boards, along with 11 points. Robert Braswell IV, in his final collegiate appearance, added 10 points, five rebounds, and a block.
"We obviously know we didn't have as successful a season as we would all like, but it's obviously very easy just to quit too, and they didn't do that at all. They didn't do it all year. They should be very proud of themselves for that," said Coach Fearne. "I think that the ultimate goal as a coach is to get your team to work together and compete regardless of the outcome. You want to fight extremely hard, and man, I'm so proud of this group."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 51-47 with 5:23 left in the game, Kylan Blackmon received a pass from Braswell IV at the top of the key and then drained a stepback triple over the outstretched arm of the Owls' forward to cut the deficit to one. Following the Blackmon triple, Thomas earned a steal by drawing a jump ball call, giving possession back to Charlotte. Graves could not sink the go-ahead shot in the paint, and Florida Atlantic went on an 10-4 scoring run to take command of the game late with a 61-54 lead and 36 ticks on the clock.
Thomas cut the deficit to three after burying a sidestep triple with 7.4 seconds remaining. His previous basket, which came with 14.9 ticks on the clock, was nearly identical to his last, sidestepping into a jumper before drawing a foul. The first bucket made it a 61-56 game, but he could not complete the three-point play. In the final 30 seconds, the Owls missed three of four free throws, surrendering a chance to take a nine-point lead. Alternatively, the 49ers missed three free throws in the final 26 seconds.
After Florida Atlantic took a 47-39 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining, Nika Metskhvarishvili drained an elbow jumper, and Rosado sank another jumper for consecutive baskets to cut the deficit to 47-43.
The game was 40 minutes of each team trading baskets with neither team reeling off a run better than six straight points. Early in the second half, before the mini FAU runs, Charlotte tied the game at 33 with a strong drive past two defenders and a layup from Graves.
In the first half, the Owls used a mini 6-0 run to turn a 15-14 deficit into a 20-14 lead. Meanwhile, trailing 29-22 with 1:12 remaining, Rosado hit a pull-up jumper before earning a steal on a failed Owls lob that resulted in a wide-open triple for Braswell.
Braswell started the game on a hot streak, hitting a triple for the first Charlotte basket of the day. He was three-of-four from three-point land in the first half.
STAT FACTS
Charlotte made five more three-pointers (seven) than Florida Atlantic (two). The Niners shot 7-of-27 from deep, while the Owls made two of their 10 shots from three-point range.
The Charlotte starters scored 52 of the team's 59 points. Thomas' seven points were the only scoring contributions from the Niners' reserves.
The Niners clinched their spot in the second round after defeating Rice in the first round on Wednesday. Charlotte secured its first conference tournament win since 2016 with its victory over Rice.
Florida Atlantic advances to the quarterfinals to face fourth-seeded Tulane.
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