GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
Florida Atlantic 78, Fairleigh Dickinson 70
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Johnell Davis scored 29 points, Alijah Martin added 14 and Florida Atlantic ended Fairleigh Dickinson's magical moment by outlasting the No. 16 seed 78-70 in the NCAA Tournament.
The ninth-seeded Owls (33-3) needed everything they had to put away the Knights (21-16), who stunned top-seeded Purdue in just the second 16-over-1 upset i n men's tournament history.
It will be FAU, not FDU, which will play Tennessee in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“My team just believed in me,” said Davis, a junior from Gary, Indiana. “It’s just a dream come true."
The Knights couldn't come up with an encore after eliminating Purdue, but not before putting up a fight to the finish. After the final horn, coach Tobin Anderson and FDU's players walked across the floor to thank their fans, most of whom never expected to spend five days in Ohio watching their team make history.
Demetre Roberts scored 20 points and Sean Moore had 14 for FDU, which didn't even win the Northeast Conference tournament before becoming an NCAA team that won't soon be forgotten.
March 19, 2023
| Fairleigh Dickinson | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| A. Almonor | F | 27 | 2-8 | 1-2 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| D. Roberts | G | 37 | 8-22 | 2-3 | 2-12 | 0-7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| G. Singleton | G | 32 | 2-9 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| S. Moore | G | 28 | 5-10 | 2-2 | 2-5 | 2-9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| J. Munden Jr. | G | 22 | 5-11 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| H. Bligen | 19 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| J. Emanuel | 12 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| C. Tweedy | 12 | 3-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| B. Reynolds | 10 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Totals | 199 | 27-71 (.380) |
7-10 (.700) |
9-31 (.290) |
13-44 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 70 | |
| Florida Atlantic | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| V. Goldin | F | 18 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| J. Davis | G | 34 | 10-16 | 8-9 | 1-4 | 2-12 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 29 |
| A. Martin | G | 32 | 5-14 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| B. Greenlee | G | 28 | 2-7 | 0-2 | 2-5 | 0-3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| N. Boyd | G | 26 | 2-8 | 0-1 | 1-7 | 1-5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| J. Gaffney | 21 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| G. Rosado | 21 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| B. Weatherspoon | 12 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| M. Forrest | 8 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 29-71 (.408) |
11-18 (.611) |
9-31 (.290) |
15-47 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 78 | |
