PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Dennis Mavin scored 19 points to lead Florida Atlantic to a 70-63 season-opening victory over UC Davis on Friday in the Athletes in Action Classic.
Mavin and Alex Tucker, who scored 14 points, had to pick up the slack for Greg Gantt, Florida Atlantic’s leading scorer last season. He was ejected for throwing a flagrant elbow after playing only four minutes and scoring four points.
Mark Payne led Davis with 19 points on a 13-for-13 effort from the foul line. But he hit only 3 of 9 shots from the field. The Aggies shot just 37 percent.
Despite losing Gantt, Florida Atlantic led for the first 26 minutes. But Davis clawed back and took a 41-40 lead on Ryan Howley’s 3-pointer.
The lead changed hands five more times before the Owls took the lead for good when Kore White hit a jumper to make it 50-49 with 7:54 left.
