Florida Atlantic's clutch second-half buckets downs Fairleigh Dickinson to advance to Sweet 16

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Two teams entered the court in Columbus on Sunday night looking for their school’s first Sweet 16 appearance in history. 

The No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic Owls are going to head to New York for that, as they defeated No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, 78-70, to stop their Cinderella journey in the NCAA Tournament. 

The FDU Knights came out hot in the second half, outscoring FAU 12-1 after being down seven to take a five-point lead. The game, a fast-paced bout between both teams, would go back-and-forth, but it was FAU that consistently had an 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 during the second half in the 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 began to bend, FAU broke them. 

In the final five minutes, it was the Owls’ leading scorer, Johnell Davis, that took over and made sure their ticket was punched to the Big Apple. Davis hit two jumpers in a row to put the Owls up, 65-58, and he got to the line for two free throws as well. 

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Demetre Roberts, who put on quite a show in the second half to lead the FDU Knights, got a bit cold down the stretch. And after a big Bryan Greenlee three-pointer to put FAU up eight, Davis got himself a steal on the ensuing FDU drive. 

FDU never quite, as Ansley Almonor knocked in a three to cut the lead to six, but FAU