Florida Atlantic used a barrage of first-half 3-pointers Monday to beat Georgia State 84-77 as part of the World Vision Classic.
The Owls (1-2) made their first six 3-point attempts, 11 in the first half and 15 overall. Greg Gantt hit all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with 17 points overall.
A jump shot from Kelvin Penn put Florida Atlantic in front 39-21, its biggest lead, with 4:25 left in the first half, and the Owls led 45-32 at halftime.
Georgia State pecked away in the second half and pulled within four, 80-76, when Josh Micheaux hit a free throw with 27.5 seconds left. But free throws by Alex Tucker and Shavar Richardson sealed the game for FAU.
The Owls had made 15 3-pointers in their first two games combined.
Eric Buckner led the Panthers (0-3) with 24 points. Jihad Ali added 14.
