BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Johnell Davis scored 25 points as No. 21 Florida Atlantic Owls won its school-record 19th straight game, beating Middle Tennessee 85-67 Thursday night.
The victory gave FAU (20-1, 9-0 Conference USA) only the second 20-win season in the program's Division I history and coach Dusty May his first 20-win season.
''These guys have learned how to win,'' said May, who's led FAU to at least a .500 record in each of his five seasons.
An announced crowd of 3,082 - an FAU record - enjoyed the Owls' first-ever home game as a ranked team. FAU remained undefeated at home, with its lone loss coming at Mississippi.
Davis, the Owls' leading scorer, once again came off the bench early in the first half, this time calming what had been a jittery FAU offense that missed its first eight shots. The sophomore hit six of his eight first-half shots and scored 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
''The way I was warming up, I was giving it my all so I would be ready to give it my all off the bench,'' Davis said.
MTSU (13-8, 6-3 C-USA) cut FAU's lead to three on Camryn Weston's jumper with a little less than 15 minutes to play, but never drew any closer.
''FAU was just a little bit tougher than we were, particularly in big moments,'' MTSU coach Nick McDevitt said. ''I thought we settled for some early 3s. We made a couple that made it a three-point game, and then as soon as it stopped going they were able to make a run because they kept getting twos at the basket.''
FAU's reserves totaled 52 points.
Nick Boyd and Bryan Greenlee added 13 points each for FAU. Eli Lawrence led MTSU with 17 points.
BIG PICTURE
Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders began the day riding a four-game winning streak that had elevated them into third place in C-USA play. ...MTSU didn't shoot a free throw in the first half and only attempted four on the night. ...MTSU's lone win over Top 25 team remains its 2016 NCAA Tournament upset over No. 2 Michigan St.
Florida Atlantic: FAU entered Thursday night as one of only three teams nationally with at least 19 wins this season. No. 18 College of Charleston (21) doesn't play again until Saturday. No. 1 Purdue played Illinois later on Thursday. ... FAU's current 19-game winning streak is second only to College of Charleston's 20. ... FAU's only other 20-win season came in 2010-11 under coach Mike Jarvis.
UP NEXT
Middle Tennessee State: Visits Florida International on Saturday.
Florida Atlantic: Hosts Western Kentucky on Saturday.
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1st Half
MTSU
Blue Raiders
30
FAU
Owls
38
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
DeAndre Dishman vs. Vladislav Goldin (Nick Boyd gains possession)
19:41
Bryan Greenlee misses two point layup
19:39
DeAndre Dishman defensive rebound
19:24
Camryn Weston misses two point jump shot
19:22
DeAndre Dishman offensive rebound
19:06
Justin Bufford misses three point jump shot
19:04
Nick Boyd defensive rebound
18:55
Brandon Weatherspoon misses three point jump shot
18:53
Vladislav Goldin offensive rebound
18:52
Justin Bufford personal foul (Vladislav Goldin draws the foul)
18:42
Jalen Gaffney misses three point jump shot
18:40
Vladislav Goldin offensive rebound
18:40
Camryn Weston personal foul (Vladislav Goldin draws the foul)
18:23
Nick Boyd misses two point layup
18:21
Eli Lawrence defensive rebound
18:10
Teafale Lenard Jr. misses three point jump shot
18:08
Nick Boyd defensive rebound
17:58
Bryan Greenlee misses two point pullup jump shot
17:56
DeAndre Dishman defensive rebound
17:43
Vladislav Goldin blocks DeAndre Dishman's two point layup
17:41
DeAndre Dishman offensive rebound
17:37
+3
Justin Bufford makes three point jump shot (DeAndre Dishman assists)
3-0
17:04
Owls turnover (shot clock violation)
16:48
Teafale Lenard Jr. turnover (lost ball)
16:30
Johnell Davis misses two point jump shot
16:28
DeAndre Dishman defensive rebound
16:20
+2
Eli Lawrence makes two point driving layup
5-0
15:55
Michael Forrest misses three point jump shot
15:52
Blue Raiders defensive rebound
15:52
TV timeout
15:27
Tyler Millin turnover (lost ball) (Johnell Davis steals)
15:15
Teafale Lenard Jr. blocks Jalen Gaffney's two point jump shot
15:13
DeAndre Dishman defensive rebound
15:07
Eli Lawrence turnover (bad pass) (Johnell Davis steals)
14:59
+2
Michael Forrest makes two point turnaround jump shot
5-2
14:42
+3
Tyler Millin makes three point bank jump shot
8-2
14:22
+2
Giancarlo Rosado makes two point driving layup
8-4
14:19
DeAndre Dishman shooting foul (Giancarlo Rosado draws the foul)
14:22
+1
Giancarlo Rosado makes regular free throw 1 of 1
8-5
14:12
Alijah Martin personal foul (Tyler Millin draws the foul)
14:06
+3
Eli Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Camryn Weston assists)
11-5
13:38
Jared Coleman-Jones shooting foul (Johnell Davis draws the foul)
13:38
+1
Johnell Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
11-6
13:38
+1
Johnell Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2
11-7
13:23
Teafale Lenard Jr. misses three point jump shot
13:21
Jared Coleman-Jones offensive rebound
13:17
Giancarlo Rosado blocks Jared Coleman-Jones's two point layup
13:15
Camryn Weston offensive rebound
13:06
+2
Eli Lawrence makes two point dunk
13-7
13:02
Teafale Lenard Jr. blocks Michael Forrest's two point bank jump shot
13:00
Camryn Weston defensive rebound
12:50
Eli Lawrence turnover (lost ball) (Alijah Martin steals)
12:44
Alijah Martin misses two point dunk
12:42
Eli Lawrence defensive rebound
12:37
Tyler Millin turnover (lost ball) (Johnell Davis steals)
12:33
+2
Johnell Davis makes two point dunk
13-9
12:13
Eli Lawrence misses two point jump shot
12:11
Alijah Martin defensive rebound
12:00
Alijah Martin misses three point jump shot
11:58
Jared Coleman-Jones defensive rebound
11:41
Jared Coleman-Jones misses three point jump shot
11:39
Giancarlo Rosado defensive rebound
11:24
+2
Giancarlo Rosado makes two point jump shot
13-11
11:22
Jared Coleman-Jones shooting foul (Giancarlo Rosado draws the foul)
11:24
TV timeout
11:24
+1
Giancarlo Rosado makes regular free throw 1 of 1
13-12
11:01
DeAndre Dishman misses two point turnaround hook shot
10:59
Vladislav Goldin defensive rebound
10:51
+3
Johnell Davis makes three point jump shot (Bryan Greenlee assists)
13-15
10:34
Jump ball. Camryn Weston vs. Johnell Davis (Blue Raiders gains possession)
10:25
Jump ball. DeAndre Dishman vs. Nick Boyd (Owls gains possession)