Boca Raton, FL – At last Thursday preseason luncheon, Florida Atlantic's Head Basketball Coach Mike Jarvis commented on Northwood's win over Florida International last preseason… "FIU will probably never want to schedule you again after what you did to them last year. But if you beat us, I am going to play you until we do beat you." Next year's preseason roster already has one game filled after Northwood's 85-81 overtime victory over the Owls.
The Seahawks jumped on FAU early, leading by as many as nine points towards the end of the sixteenth minute. The team was carried by Jonathan Dunn, a junior transfer out of Owens Community College. Dunn accounted for just under half of the 36 points in the first half, netting 15 points. Sophomore Patrick Horstmann, last season's The Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, grabbed four boards in only eight minutes of play. Sophomore Tyrone Davis moved the ball well at the point, assisting five buckets and snagging two rebounds.
Javris' Owls offense was spread out fairly evenly in the first half. Alex Tucker led his team for the first 20 minutes with eight points and four rebounds. Jordan McCoy and Brett Royster each tallied six points apiece.
Northwood held the lead for the entire first half until under a minute left when Pablo Bertone tied the game at 36 going into the locker rooms.
After the half, Northwood struck first on two foul shots by Horstmann. FAU would re-tie the count at 38. The lead would jockey back and forth for much of the half. FAU did manage to take their biggest lead in the second half (6) in the seventeenth minute but was unable to sustain it.
Once again, Dunn answered the call, outdoing his first half total by four (19). During that second half, Dunn was 5-8 from the floor and 2-3 behind the arch. Horstmann came back alive in the half as well, collecting six more boards. He also contributed seven points that half.
With ten seconds left in regulation, the Seahawks found themselves with a two point lead. FAU had possession of the ball following a time-out. With only a couple of seconds left on the clock, the Owl's Greg Gantt drove the lane and netted the layup to send the game into overtime.
The score was tied at 73 going into the five minute overtime period. Dunn opened up the period with a jumper. FAU answered with 2:53 left on the clock to tie to game at 75. Northwood went on a run following the tie, scoring four unanswered points. That cushion was enough in the short overtime to lead the Seahawk's to their second preseason win over a NCAA Division I school in as many years with the final score reading 85-81.
"Playing a D I team on the road and playing the way they did was great," Coach Massimino said after the game.
Massimino went on to talk about the game's leading point scorer Dunn. "He works really hard. He is still learning and is only going to get better as the season goes on."
With the win over FAU, Northwood will prepare for the regular season on November 17 against Winona State. That game is set for 7:00 PM in West Palm Beach.