WICHITA, Kan. – In their second consecutive overtime game, the No. 20 Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team (19-5, 9-2 AAC) came away with a 95-82 victory over Wichita State (10-14, 2-9 AAC) on Sunday afternoon.
The Owls relied on a balanced scoring attack with five scorers in double figures. Junior center Vlad Goldin tallied his third career game with 20 points and senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon adding 19 on 7-for-9 shooting.
Though they needed an extra five minutes to seal the win, FAU did not have an off switch in overtime, hustling to the basket on their way to 21 points with just one missed shot.
Florida Atlantic’s 2023-24 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.
FIRST HALF
The Owls found their offensive spark with Weatherspoon coming off the bench early for eight straight points.
Defensively, the tone was set by junior guard Alijah Martin’s relentless pursuit of the basketball, stealing the ball three times in the opening period and diving for loose balls that lead to big scores on the other end of the floor.
Ultimately, neither team was able to break away with a big lead as the Owls entered the locker room with a slight 38-36 advantage.
SECOND HALF
Senior guard Bryan Greenlee was the man of the half, efficiently knocking down outside jumpers for the team’s first seven points.
This sparked a run in which FAU converted seven straight field goal attempts. Balance remained the name of the half with seven different Owls scoring at least four points and no one scoring more than nine.
Despite a nine-point deficit with six minutes remaining, the Shockers were not ready to be put away. They came back to bring the game within one possession and took a brief one-point lead on a triple with 42 seconds left on the clock. Greenlee would hit two clutch free throws to put the Owls over by a score of 74-73.
Wichita State responded with trip to the line of their own, but only made one of their two attempts to tie the game and send it into overtime.
OVERTIME
Unlike the previous outing’s OT, the Owls came out of the gates swinging with a 14-2 run.
Back-to-back triples by Weatherspoon and Martin gave the Owls a 12-point lead, their biggest of the night. The Owls crashed the boards and relentlessly attacked the basket, shooting 7-for-8 from the field in the extra five minutes. Goldin, Martin, and Weatherspoon combined for all seven of the made field goals.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Dusty May
“Our guys have the belief now that we have been in this situation so many times and we have such a high-level trust with each other. No one feels like they need to be our hero or save us, they just stay in the flow.”
Junior Center Vlad Goldin
“Every game is very physical, especially in the American Conference. It was like any other game, very physical. It was nice, I liked it.”
Senior Guard Brandon Weatherspoon
“I knew it was an early morning game and I am a big energy guy so I just tried to get our juices going as early as possible and get us going as a great teammate and make sure everything stayed positive.”
STATS & NOTES
- Goldin led the team in points (20), rebounds (nine), and assists, setting a new career high with five
- With 14 points, Davis now has 17 straight games scoring in double digits
- Florida Atlantic recorded a season high 13 steals
- The Owls’ newfound success from the free throw line continued, converting a season high 90.9% of their attempts (20-for-22)
- FAU reached the 90+ point mark for the ninth time this season. They are a perfect 9-0 in such games
- The Owls recorded 21 assists to Wichita State’s nine
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic returns home to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Thursday, Feb. 11. They are set to face Temple (8-15, 1-9 AAC) on ESPN2, tipping off at 7 p.m. EST.
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