| BOCA RATON (FAUSports.com) – Fueled by a red-hot start and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team defeated Louisiana Tech 83-73 Thursday night at FAU Arena. It was the eighth straight home victory for the Owls. FAU was 9-of-11 from the floor over the first seven minutes of the contest, grabbing a 20-9 lead. Alijah Martin was a catalyst to the quick start for the Owls, scoring 11 points in less than eight minutes to start the game, giving him 12 straight games in double figures. FAU (13-9, 6-3 CUSA) continued to pour it on. A 12-2 offensive outburst midway through the opening 20 minutes gave the Owls their largest lead of the game, 37-17. “The ball found the open guy. We moved it well,” FAU head coach Dusty May said. “We cut hard, with purpose. We played a really, really good first 15 minutes, offensively.” Louisiana Tech (17-7, 7-3 CUSA) chipped away at its deficit, but could get no closer than 44-30 at the intermission. The 14-point halftime lead matched the Owls’ biggest lead at halftime all season. FAU scored the first four points of the second half to go on top by 18 points. But Louisiana Tech, picked by man experts to finish in the top two of C-USA, wouldn’t go quietly. The Bulldogs strung together an 11-3 run to pull back within single digits, just six minutes into the second half. La Tech used that offensive spurt to put themselves in position for a big comeback. With FAU leading 53-42, the Bulldogs’ star big man Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored five of his team’s next eight points. The other three came off a 3-pointer from Amorie Archibald, pulling Louisiana Tech within two possessions, 55-49, with 11:22 remaining. But the Owls answered with layups from Vlad Goldin and Bryan Greenlee to push the lead back to 10 points, 59-49. From there, Louisiana Tech never got closer than nine. The Owls hit 13-of-14 free-throw attempts over the final 2:07 to preserve the 83-73 victory. “In the second half, they (Louisiana Tech) came out with the mindset they were going to turn it into a streetfight,” May said. “They were sending more guys to the glass and challenging to rebound and score in transition. Once we were able to settle in, we were able to do the same thing to them in the second half and that allowed us to separate.” Martin scored 17 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 21. He also lead the Owls with eight rebounds. Three other FAU players scored in double digits, as Michael Forrest scored 20, including four 3-pointers. Greenlee scored 19, including 8-of-12 free throws, while dishing out three assists. Goldin added 10 points and was a presence on the defensive end with three blocked shots. Lofton tallied a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. But he was frustrated for much of the game, shooting just 5-of-12 from the field. Coach May credited Everett Winchester with his defensive effort on Lofton. “Everett Winchester had the worst stat line of any of our starters and I thought his floor game was incredible,” May said. “He just played really well in a lot of facets defensively, his work on Lofton.” The Owls are back in action at home Saturday afternoon, hosting Southern Miss. Tipoff at The Burrow is slated for 4 p.m. |
