Richardson calmly makes free throws under pressure to beat Denver
By Marcus Nelson
Florida Atlantic senior guard Alex Tucker set the school's all-time assist record in Thursday's 72-71 victory vs. Denver at The Burrow.
But the night belonged to the other guard from Mike Jarvis' first recruiting class, Shavar Richardson, who hit two-of-three game-winning free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining to win the game.
Richardson said he had never been in that situation before, but it was hard to tell. After being fouled on a 3-point attempt with the Owls trailing 71-70, he stepped to the line and nailed the important first one (pictured) to tie the game and take the pressure off.
After he made the second one, to give FAU a lead, he intentionally missed the third so Denver, which was out of timeouts, had to hit a prayer to win the game.
The prayer wasn't answered and the Owls escaped with the 72-71 victory.
“I didn't want to lose the game for us, so it felt real good,” Richardson said.