Poole sparks FAU in debut, 79-69 over Stetson

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Solomon Poole scored 23 points in his first appearance with Florida Atlantic and the Owls defeated Stetson 79-69 on Tuesday night.

Poole, a transfer from Georgia Tech, was declared eligible to play two hours prior to tipoff and finished 8 of 13 from the floor coming off the bench. Marquan Botley and Justin Raffington each chipped in 13 points for FAU (5-3). Raffington also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Stetson (3-8) shot 51.9 percent from the field, but gave up 18 second-chance points and another 15 on turnovers. Kentwan Smith led the Hatters with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

The Owls rolled out to an early 21-4 lead sparked by two layups, a dunk and a pair of free throws from Raffington. Stetson trailed by 20 at halftime, but used a 21-7 run to pull within six. Poole answered with an eight-point surge for a 60-46 lead with 9:10 left.