Florida Atlantic 77, FIU 74

Published Feb. 18, 2010 10:31 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sanchez Hughley scored 19 points, including a late free throw to help seal Florida Atlantic's 77-74 win over Florida International on Thursday night.

Raymond Taylor added 17 points while Greg Gantt had 16 for the Owls (14-12, 10-5 Sun Belt Conference), who completed the season sweep over their state rivals. They beat FIU 106-88 on Jan. 30.

Brett Royster notched a double-double for the Owls, scoring 10 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.

With the win, FAU remained in the mix in a five-way tie atop the Sun Belt standings with three games to play.

FIU led 70-69 with just over 3 minutes to play, but Taylor hit a 3-pointer for FAU and the Owls stayed in front the rest of the way. Both Taylor and Hughley hit late foul shots to secure the win.

Tremayne Russell scored 18 points to lead the Golden Panthers (7-22, 4-12).

The Owls have won seven of the last nine games.