Carlyle’s 22 points leads Florida Atlantic in the Battle of Owls

Behind Kanaan Carlyle’s 22 points, Florida Atlantic rallied from a halftime deficit to topple Temple 77-73 at home on Thursday night, in the second edition of the Battle of the Owls.

With the win, Florida Atlantic broke a three-game home losing streak and improved to 16-13 on the season and 8-8 in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls are now sitting at 7th place in the AAC within a game and a half of fourth place.

Carlyle shot 7-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from the three-point line. Xander Pintelon scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Yohann Sissoko added 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 on both field goals and free throws.

Temple (15-13, 7-8) was led by Gavin Griffiths and Derrian Ford, who each scored 20 points. Aiden Tobiason also finished with 19 points and two steals.

Facing a 44-38 deficit entering the second half, FAU burst out of the gate with an 8-0 run to take a 46-44 lead. Five of the points came from Devin Williams, who finished with nine points.

FAU was able to maintain its lead throughout the second half, growing it to 10 points after a driving layup by Pintelon with 10:28 remaining in the game.

Temple clawed back from an 11-point deficit and went on a 16-4 run to take a 73-72 lead on a Ford layup entering the final minute of the game.

FAU swiftly retook the lead after two free throws from Carlyle and a contested layup by Amar Amkou sealed the game for the Owls of Paradise.

Both teams made seven three-pointers and had similar overall shooting numbers. FAU out-rebounded Temple 33-25, led by Josiah Parker’s 11 rebounds.

FAU hosts Charlotte for the final home game of the season on Sunday, March 1. The Owls will then travel to Wichita State on March 7 to close out the season. Both teams are ahead of FAU in the standings.