FAU mens basketball picked up their first-ever victory over a Big Ten team on Tuesday night by upsetting Ohio State 79-77 in overtime. They were 21 point underdogs heading into the contest. Nick Rutherford banked in a runner with one second remaining to give Florida Atlantic the win, which snapped a two-game losing streak. I saw space in the paint, so I was able to get around my man and put it off the glass, said Rutherford. I actually work on that move and that shot a lot. I got that from my dad and I work on it with Coach Oliver. FAU (3-5) overcame a 58-47 deficit mid-way through the second half and would lead 70-67 with less than 1 minute remaining before the Buckeyes forced the extra frame. Frank Booker stole the ball, giving the Owls possession with 26 seconds left in overtime and the score tied at 77 apiece. Rutherford (pictured) drove into the paint and hit the floater to put the Owls up with one second left. Adonis Filer snatched the inbounds pass to seal the win over the Buckeyes. Its huge just to show people that we can play with top-tier teams, Rutherford said. Our record doesnt show it, but were a great team too. Its good to play on a big stage like this and get a win. Ohio State paid FAU $95,000 for the contest which was scheduled as a guarantee game. Both in terms of the overall program and this season in particular, this is the kind of the game that we will always be able to pull things from, said Head Coach Michael Curry. Jailyn Ingram tallied 10 points in what was his fifth straight double-digit game to go with four rebounds and three assists. Ronald Delph had just two points, but pulled down 10 rebounds. FAU will have another test after taking a break for final exams when they take on Miami on Friday, December 16th at 7:00 PM.
