XENIA, Ohio. – Florida Atlantic carried a 25-point lead into halftime and held off Indiana State on Monday night inside the John Wooden Family Fieldhouse as the Sycamores fell to the Owls in the 2024-25 season opener, 97-65.
 
The Sycamores (0-1) launched early and often from the three-point line in building a 15-12 lead six minutes into the contest after a Samage Teel three-pointer capping off a stretch where four different Indiana State players hit from behind the arc. FAU (1-0) steadily battled back going on a 21-3 run sparked by Niccolo Maretti's 12 points during the stretch in taking the 33-18 lead with 5:57 to play in the first half.
 
The Owls' lead hit 28 points with 1:31 remaining in the half on a Kyky Tandy three-pointer, before Teel hit the final five points of the half to send the teams into the locker room with the Sycamores trailing 53-28.
 
Indiana State opened the second half connecting behind the arc as Aaron Gray, Markus Harding, and Teel all connected behind the arc to cut the game down to 58-37 with 17:55 to play in the second half. That's as close as the Sycamores were able to get as FAU utilized their depth with six players scoring double-digits and 10 players scoring overall in securing the season-opening win.
 
Teel led the Sycamores with a game-high 21 points in his Indiana State debut as the guard hit 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-10 from the three-point line in the loss. K'mani Doughty added eight points off the bench, while 10 different Indiana State players scored in the game. Bruno Alocen added a team-high seven rebounds, while Jaden Daughtry posted three steals.
 
Moretti led FAU with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Leland Walker and Baba Miller scored 13 points apiece. Tandy (11), Ken Evans (10), and Matas Vokietaitis (10) also scored double-digits in the game as FAU shot 55.7% from the floor, 47.8% from the three-point line in the win.
 
News & Notes

• Ten different players made their Sycamores debuts in tonight's opener.
• Samage Teel scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, including four of his five triples.
• Indiana State assisted on 15 of its 21 made field goals.

 
Up Next
Indiana State returns home on Thursday, November 7 for its home opener against Eureka with a tip time of 7 p.m. ET. The Sycamores Hoops Fest on Thursday will be from 4 – 7 p.m. ET, presented by RJL Solutions. The event is free to attend and will be held in The Terminal's parking lot.
 
The Big Fun Band will provide the live entertainment from 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. with the Vigo County Public Library providing kid-friendly activities for the whole family to enjoy. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
 
Get Your Tickets
Tickets can still be purchased for the home opener on Thursday, November 7. Single game tickets in the upper bowl can be purchased for $12 in advance with a $3 processing fee, and on game day tickets can be purchased for $15. Single game tickets can be found HERE.
 
America's Got Talent winner Richard Goodall will be singing the national anthem and performing at halftime of Thursday's game.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Men's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.