KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Johnell Davis scored 26 points, Alijah Martin added 25 and No. 19 Florida Atlantic beat No. 12 Texas A&M 96-89 in a semifinal at the ESPN Events Invitational.
FAU went 16 of 30 from 3-point range and improved to 4-1.
Wade Taylor IV had 35 points for Texas A&M, which fell to 5-1.
Texas A&M played the second half without Henry Coleman III, who was hurt with 3 minutes left in the opening half and limped off the court. The forward led the Aggies with 24 points in a 89-77 win over Butler on Thursday.
Jalen Gaffney hit a pair of long-range shots to key FAU’s 16-3 run to start the second half and take a 62-47 lead.
![Florida Atlantic Owls guard Alijah Martin celebrates after 3-point shot vs. Texas A&M Aggies, Nov. 24, 2023](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9900caa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3532x2352+0+0/resize/1280x852!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9b%2Fd3%2Ff1e66ca74866af60f52e0310325a%2Fap23328620329053.jpg)
Coleman had a pair of layups to spur a first half-ending 16-6 run that got Texas A&M within 46-44.
Vladislav Goldin, a 7-foot-1 center who scored 19 points in Thursday's 91-86 win over Butler, didn't take his first shot until 13 minutes into the game when he converted after a rebound. It was part of a 15-0 run that included three 3s by Martin to put FAU ahead 40-28.
Goldin made a pair of key free throws in the final minute of the game and finished with 10 points.