| CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FAUSports.com) — The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team continues a three-game road trip Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. The Owls face off with Charlotte. It’s the middle of a stretch that will determine all-important seeding for the Conference USA Championship Tournament, coming up March 8-12 in Frisco, Texas. FAU and Charlotte are currently both 8-7 in Conference USA play and tied for third in the East Division. They are one game back of Western Kentucky for the No. 2 spot. The top two seeds in each division earn byes directly into the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Championship tournament. This is the second matchup this season between the Owls and Monarchs. FAU won the first meeting 96-67 in Boca Raton on Jan. 17. FAU is 15-13 overall and 8-7 in Conference USA. FAU has matched its top mark for C-USA victories in a season, which was last accomplished in 2018-19. The Owls have four conference games remaining this season to set a new standard for CUSA success. Charlotte comes into the contest 15-12 and 8-7 in C-USA action. The 49ers have have won their last two (vs. Marshall and FIU), but lost three straight (WKU, MTSU, La Tech) prior. The FAU-Charlotte tilt will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and will be streamed on ESPN+. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. ET. Trending Upward FAU posted its third consecutive winning season in 2020-21, making Dusty May the first Owls’ head coach to lead a team to three straight winning seasons in the school’s NCAA Division I history. Back in 1992, Tim Loomis coached the Owls to three straight seasons with a winning percentage above .500 while the team was a member of NCAA Division II. Two more victories in 2021-22 would assure a winning season and make May the first to coach FAU to four straight seasons above .500. Martin Making His Mark Alijah Martin has stepped up during his second year as an Owl. After averaging 4.2 points in his first season, the second-year freshman is putting up 13.4 ppg, ranking No. 2 on the team. He has reached 10+ points in 21 of 28 games this year. He tallied 10+ points just 4 times in 2020-21. He leads the team at .395 percent from 3-point range. As a 6-foot 2-inch guard, Martin’s 5.3 rebounds per game leads the team. He’s also leading the team in steals with 1.5 per game. The Goldin Hour One of the lone bright spots from Thursday’s tough loss at Old Dominion was 7-foot 1-inch center Vlad Goldin. The big man led the Owls with 13 points, going 5-of-8 from the field despite playing just 14 minutes due to foul trouble. Last Time Out – ODU 70, FAU 51 The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team dropped a 70-51 decision on the road at Old Dominion Thursday evening. The Owls couldn’t buy a bucket for much of the second half. FAU (15-13, 8-7 CUSA) shot just 8-of-37 (21.6 percent) from the field in the second half, including 0-for-15 from 3-point range. ODU (11-17, 6-9 CUSA) took advantage en route to the 19-point victory. The first 18 minutes of the contest were an entertaining, back-and-forth affair. The lead changed hands nine times in the first 18 minutes of the contest. The Owls led 29-28 on a pair of Giancarlo Rosado free throws. But ODU outscored FAU 8-3 over final two minutes of the half to grab a four-point lead at the intermission. But FAU was ice cold coming out of the break. The Owls were 0-for-10 from the field to start the second half. The Monarchs built a 12-point lead, 44-32, before Johnell Davis finally scored more than four minutes into the second half. ODU scored the next eight points, including a four-point play from A.J. Oliver, to take control, 52-34. From there, FAU never got closer than 16 points. Kalu Ezikpe recorded a double-double to lead ODU, scoring 17 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. C.J. Keyser and Austin Trice added 16 and 14, respectively for the Monarchs. Vlad Goldin was the only Owl in double digits with 13 points, despite just 14 minutes of action due to foul trouble. Bitumba Baruti grabbed a team-best seven rebounds for the Owls. |
