Hughley’s late scoring surge leads Florida Atlantic past Louisiana Lafayette 76-72

Florida Atlantic beats Louisiana Lafayette 76-72

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sanchez Hughley made a go-ahead layup with 21 seconds left to lift Florida Atlantic to a 76-72 win over Louisiana Lafayette on Thursday night.

Hughley scored six of his 13 points in the final 1:39 for the Owls (13-12, 9-5 Sun Belt Conference), who trailed 69-68 when Louisiana Lafayette’s Tyren Johnson hit a jumper. Hughley’s back-to-back layups put Florida Atlantic ahead by three with 1:14 to play.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (11-13, 8-5) tied the game at 72 with 54 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Randell Daigle, who finished with 17 points. But Hughley, who went 5-for-11 from the floor, scored off an Alex Tucker assist to put the Owls up for good.

Greg Gantt led Florida Atlantic with 23 points and Brett Royster had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tucker had 12 points and six assists, while Raymond Taylor added 10.

Johnson scored 19 points for Louisiana Lafayette.