BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Nick Rutherford and Adonis Filer combined to score 27 points and Florida Atlantic held on to beat Florida International 73-64 Saturday afternoon in a battle between teams in search of their first win in Conference USA play.
Florida Atlantic (5-9, 1-2) built a 10-point lead in the first half, taking a 40-30 advantage into intermission and led 64-51 with under seven minutes to play.
Eric Nottage's layup with 46 seconds left cut the lead to five, 69-64, but Florida International (4-12, 0-3) turned the ball over twice in the final 38 seconds and Adonis Filer converted four free throws to put the game away.