A RATON, FL-- ODU sophomore guard Keenan Palmore scored 15, freshman forward Denzell Taylor added 14 and red-shirt freshman Ambrose Mosley hit four free throws down the stretch to lead the Monarchs to a 65-60 C-USA victory at Florida Atlantic Saturday night.
ODU has now won four straight and are 3-0 in Conference USA and 9-9 overall. All three league wins have been on the road.
ODU was down 10, 40-30 with 13:26 left in the game and rallied to take the lead 54-53 on a Jumper by Richard Ross with 4:52 left. The Monarchs never relinquished the lead from there.
With 29 seconds left in the game, Ambrose Mosley hit two free throws to give ODU a 61-57 lead. A Denzell Taylor free throw made it 62-57, but Pablo Bertone sank a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to make it 63-60. Mosley then knocked down two more free throws to seal the victory at 65-60.
The Monarchs trailed 7-0 before a Denzell Taylor basket with 14:34 left in the first half. ODU took an 18-17 lead on a bucket by Taylor with 6:51 left, but at the 4:43 mark FAU regained the lead on a Justin Raffington basket. FAU would go on to lead by five, 26-21 at halftime.
Joining Taylor and Palmore in double figures was Richard Ross with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Mosley and Jordan Baker finished with nine points each and Dimitri Batten scored eight.
The Monarchs finished the night with .48.9 from the floor (23-47), while the Owls shot .478 (22-46). The Monarchs only committed nine turnovers and forced FAU into 15, scoring 20 points off turnovers for the night.
Justin Raffington led FAU with 16 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Pablo Bertone with 14 points and Marquan Botley scored 12.
The Monarchs played without leading scorer Aaron Bacote who injured his ankle against FIU. ODU returns home to host Southern Miss on Thursday night (Military Appreciation )at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, then hosts Tulane on Saturday night for Men’s Basketball Alumni night.