Florida Atlantic nips Denver 72-71 on 2 late FTs

Published Feb. 9, 2012 10:50 p.m. ET

foxsports

Shavar Richardson sank two foul shots with 1 second left as Florida Atlantic rallied for a 72-71 victory over Denver Thursday night in Sun Belt Conference action.

The Owls (10-14, 6-5) led 40-25 at halftime after making seven of their first nine 3-pointers. But Denver (17-8, 7-5) hit 12 consecutive shots midway through the second half to take the lead. The Pioneers led 54-52 on a trey by Brian Stafford (18 points, four treys) with 9:52 left.

The lead went back and forth until Denver's Chris Udofia (20 points, six blocked shots) completed a three-point play with 14 seconds left to put the Pioneers up 71-67. Greg Gantt, who led FAU with 20 points, quickly hit a 3-pointer. When Stafford missed both free throws with 0:08 left, he then fouled Richardson on his 3-point attempt with 1 second left. Richardson made the first two free throws to win it.