BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 20 Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team (18-4, 8-1 AAC) took down Tulsa (12-9, 3-6 AAC) on Saturday night at the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. The Owls hit the century mark for the third time this season in a rousing 102-70 victory.
A comfortable first half lead turned into a second half blowout with the Owls scoring 62 points on 56% shooting on a night marked by several highlight plays from a variety of players.
With the win, FAU picked up their seventh straight victory, eighth straight at the Elly.
Florida Atlantic’s 2023-24 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.
FIRST HALF
The Owls fed junior center Vlad Goldin early on with two slam dunks and a hook shot for the team’s first six points of the game.
Trailing by one halfway through the period, a driving one-handed jam by senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon kicked off a 19-1 run for Florida Atlantic. Redshirt sophomore guard Nick Boyd and junior guard Johnell Davis each knocked down consecutive triples in a half that became all Owls.
FAU would enter the locker room with a 40-27 lead at the half.
SECOND HALF
Right out of halftime, Florida Atlantic continued their formula of finding Goldin in the paint, scoring and drawing the foul on the opening possession.
The Owls made nine of their first 10 shots. It was junior guard Alijah Martin’s turn to take over, scoring 15 points on a five-for-six shooting.
A hot offensive start never let up with 10 different players scoring a basket in the period. Overall, Florida Atlantic shot 58% from the field in the second half.
An 11-0 run sparked by two consecutive triples from senior guard Bryan Greenlee gave the Owls 99 with four minutes to play and a slam dunk by sophomore forward Brenen Lorient with just over a minute on the clock put 101 on the scoreboard.
STATS & NOTES
- Davis recorded his 15th straight game in double figures, dropping 24 points on eight-for-12 shooting, three-for-four from beyond the arc
- Martin added a game high nine rebounds to his 16 points
- Goldin scored 18 on seven-for-10 shooting
- The entire starting lineup recorded double digit points for the second time this season, with Boyd scoring 13 and Greenlee adding 11
- 62 points in one half marks the most by the Owls this season
- The Owls recorded 90+ points for the eighth time in 2023-24
- Florida Atlantic shot over 50% from the field (53.3%) for the 10th time this season
- FAU took advantage of every opportunity at the charity stripe, going 28-for-32 (88%) from the free throw line, all season highs
- The Owls won the assist battle 16-4 and outscored the Golden Wave 29-8 on fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic returns to the road for a two-game trip. First up is a matchup against UAB on Thursday, Feb. 8, tipping off at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
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