National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida Atlantic 75, Central Florida 64
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Where: FAU Arena, Boca Raton, Florida
Officials: # Antinio Petty, # Rick Randall, # Bert Smith
Attendance: 1655

Florida Atlantic 75, Central Florida 64: Pablo Bertone piled up 31 points, setting a career high for the second consecutive game, to lead the host Owls over the Knights.

Jackson Trapp added 13 points and Marquan Botley pitched in with 11 for Florida Atlantic (2-6), which snapped a six-game losing streak. Bertone, who totaled 29 to set a career best on Sunday in a loss to Toledo, shot 12-of-18 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds for the Owls.

Isaiah Sykes finished with 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting for Central Florida (3-3), which has dropped two straight after a 3-1 start. Calvin Newell added 18 points for the Knights, who couldn't rely on the long ball, connecting on only 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.

The Owls took a 35-32 lead into halftime led by Bertone's 12 points. Florida Atlantic held a 22-13 rebounding advantage over the Knights in the opening 20 as Dragan Sekelja pulled down seven first half boards.

The Knights took the lead on a layup from Sykes to make it 38-37 at the 17:12 mark before a 20-6 run, highlighted by 12 points from Bertone, pushed the Owls in front by 13 with 8:46 to play. Central Florida would crawl to within 63-58 with 3:49 left on the clock but never closer, as Botley and Trapp would strike for four apiece while Florida Atlantic finished the game on a 12-6 run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Knights fell to 22-7 all-time against the Owls, losing for only the sixth time in 15 appearances as the visiting team. ... Sykes passed Darryl Davis for eighth on Central Florida's all-time rebounding list, reaching 588 for his career. ... The Knights had outrebounded four of their first five opponents this season, averaging 43 per game, before getting beaten on the boards by Florida Atlantic 46-36.
Top Game Performances
 
Central Florida   Florida Atlantic
Isaiah Sykes 23 Scoring Pablo Bertone 31
Calvin Newell 2 Assists D'Andre Johnson 5
Tristan Spurlock 8 Rebounds Justin Raffington 12
Calvin Newell 8 Free Throws Made Pablo Bertone 6
Isaiah Sykes 4 Steals Marquan Botley 2
Staphon Blair 1 Blocks Kelvin Penn 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Central Florida 64 42.4 3-19 11-28 5 30 2 7 12
Florida Atlantic 75 49.1 4-12 15-31 10 39 3 5 13