Caleb Love scored 26 but couldn’t hit a game-winning three at the buzzer
LAS VEGAS — Johnell Davis scored a season-high 35 points, and Caleb Love’s last-possession 3-pointer rattled out, as No. 14 Florida Atlantic won one of its biggest regular-season games in school history, knocking off No. 4 Arizona 96-95 in double-overtime on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Davis made 15 of 27 shots for FAU (10-2), which is coming off a Final Four run but was in rare air with this kind of marquee showdown between highly ranked teams. Arizona (9-2) had a chance to win at the end, but Love, who scored a team-best 26, missed from about 25 feet.
Davis hit a series of big buckets in a game that had a late-March electricity to it, but it was Giancarlo Rosado who provided the winning margin when he hit 1 of 2 free throws with 57.2 seconds left after being fouled while shooting with one second remaining on the shot clock.
On the ensuing possession, Love missed a reverse layup and Oumar Ballo failed to convert the tip, but the Wildcats got one more chance to win at T-Mobile Arena after Alijah Martin missed a 3-pointer for the Owls. Arizona called timeout with 6.7 seconds left to set up the final shot.
The Owls twice led by five points in the second overtime, but Kylan Boswell hit a huge 3-pointer with 1:52 to go before Love tied the game at 95 with two free throws with 1:27 left.
Near the end of the first overtime, Davis worked off a screen and pulled up near the rim, rolling in a shot over Keshad Johnson to give FAU an 84-82 lead with 10.2 seconds left. Love tied it with two free throws with 5.9 seconds to go, and the Owls could muster only an off-balance 3-pointer from the baseline that missed at the buzzer.
Davis, a junior who was one off his career-high scoring total, also pulled down nine rebounds. Jalen Gaffney scored 20 for the Owls.
Ballo, a senior, finished with 13 points and a career-best 21 rebounds for Arizona. Pelle Larsson scored 15 points to go with five assists.
The Owls roared back from a 14-point first-half deficit and then squandered an eight-point second-half lead before sending the game into overtime at 73-73 with a basket with 7.2 seconds left. Vladislav Goldin threw down a dunk after a scramble for the ball after a missed 3-pointer.
The Wildcats had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Boswell missed a turnaround 12-footer from the right side of the lane.
–Field Level Media
