Moretti scores 19 as FAU takes down Temple 63-59 in American Athletic Conference Tournament

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Niccolo Moretti had 19 points in No. 7 seed Florida Atlantic's 63-59 win over 10th-seeded Temple on Wednesday night in the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

FAU (18-14) plays No. 6 seed North Texas in the second round Thursday.

Moretti also had three steals for the Owls. Kanaan Carlyle shot 5 for 11, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc to add 12 points. Isaiah Elohim shot 4 of 9 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points.

Derrian Ford finished with 16 points for the Owls (16-16). Aiden Tobiason added 12 points and two steals for Temple. Jordan Mason also had 10 points and three steals.

Carlyle scored eight points in the first half for Florida Atlantic, which led 29-27 at halftime. Moretti led Florida Atlantic with 12 points in the second half as the Owls outscored Temple by two points over the final half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.