ESTERO, Fla. – Florida Atlantic shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field in the second half to overcome a three-point halftime deficit and upend the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 77-67, on Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena.

In addition to their 56 percent shooting from the field, the Owls shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from three in the second half and went 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free-throw line. 

Sophomore Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored a team-high 21 points for NIU, junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) added 13 points and five rebounds while juniors Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) and Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) each chipped in eight points. 

"We had a good rhythm (in the first half), we had seven assists and three turnovers," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "We were sharing the basketball, it was moving, we were fast-breaking and doing good things. In the second half, we had one assist and seven turnovers. With those seven turnovers, we couldn't get into a rhythm or a flow. With seven minutes to go it was a tie game, but we just couldn't make a big shot."

Both teams struggled offensively out of the gate but it was Florida Atlantic that was first to get started as the Owls took a 7-1 lead in the early going. 

Sophomore Noah McCarty's (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) second basket of the contest ignited a 14-2 Huskie run as NIU took a 17-12 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the opening half. Bradley made a pair of turnaround jumpers during the burst while German added a layup and a triple from the wing. 

NIU (2-2) led by four, 20-16, after a free throw by James with 6:17 left in the half, the two teams then traded baskets until four-straight points from FAU tied the game at 24 just two-and-a-half minutes before the break. 

Three free throws from James and a bucket from German helped push the NIU advantage back to five, Florida Atlantic finished the half with a basket as the Huskies took a 29-26 lead into halftime.

NIU had seven assists and just three turnovers in the first half while limiting Florida Atlantic to just two assists with nine turnovers. German led NIU with eight points in the opening 20 minutes, Ronald Delph, Payton Hulsey and Simeon Lepichev each had six for the Owls. 

Florida Atlantic (2-2) scored nine of the first 11 out of the intermission as the Owls regained the lead, 35-31, within the first three minutes of the second stanza. 

NIU was back within one, 44-43, after four-straight free throws, two from German and two from James. The Florida Atlantic lead grew back to four but two more free throws from James and a layup from junior Anastasios Demogerontas (Orland Park, Ill./Moraine Valley CC) pulled the Huskies even, 55-55, with 7:34 left. 

The Huskies went 18-of-19 (94.7 percent) from the free-throw line in the second half and finished the game 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) from the line. 

FAU scored the next five, but NIU answered with five of its own on an old-fashioned three-point play from Bradley and a pair from the charity stripe by German as the Huskies pulled even with just under six minutes left. The Owls once again had an answer as they scored the next eight to take a 68-60 lead with just a little more than three minutes to play. 

Thorpe would score the next basket to trim the Florida Atlantic lead back to a half-dozen, but that was as close as the Huskies would get as the Owls went on to the 10-point victory. 

Delph finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Florida Atlantic, Anthony Adger added 15 points, Gerdarius Troutman had 14 and Justin Massey finished with 13 points for the Owls. 

NIU will conclude play at the Gulf Coast Showcase on Wednesday morning, Nov. 22, when the Huskies meet Manhattan College. Game time against the Jaspers is slated for 10 a.m. CT.