HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 22 Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team (16-4, 6-1 AAC) wrapped up their road trip with a win over Rice (7-12, 1-5 AAC), 69-56, on Wednesday night.
Unlike FAU’s previous four victories in which they averaged 92.5 points per game, the battle between the Owls came down to defense, with Rice being held to just 35% shooting from the field, tied for Florida Atlantic’s best defensive outing of the season.
Florida Atlantic’s 2023-24 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.
FIRST HALF
Florida Atlantic got their first lead of the night halfway through the opening period when Nick Boyd took a steal all the way down to the other end of the floor, driving in for a three-point play.
Boyd helped extend the lead with back-to-back triples. He tallied 11 points and three steals in the first 20 minutes. The closing minutes were all FAU, converting their last six shot attempts from the field to enter the locker room up 33-26.
SECOND HALF
A 9-0 run gave the Owls of Florida Atlantic their first double digit lead of the game. That lead expanded to as much as 15 thanks to back-to-back dunks from junior guard Alijah Martin, first off a steal and then off an alley-oop from almost midcourt.
Rice rallied but could never cut the deficit to more than five. A Martin three-pointer with just over three minutes to go brought the lead back to 10 and put the game out of reach.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Dusty May
“I feel like we are playing much better than we did a month ago. We had a really productive pre-conference where we played at a high level, we just didn’t do it as consistently as we needed to. We are still learning how difficult it is every single night getting a great effort from these conference opponents. It’s league play, every game means a lot. We talked to our team about it that Rice probably should have been 4-1 [conference record] instead of 1-4 based on how they played, they just got some bad breaks. Nick (Boyd) missed some time and Alijah (Martin) missed some time and it takes a little bit to develop a rhythm and flow. But we are getting back to our defensive identity. As a staff, we probably made some mistakes skipping some steps early on trying to build on where we thought we were. We are continuing to evolve and figure out the best way for us to play every week. We are happy with where we are now.”
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Nick Boyd
“Like Coach said, we are starting to find our groove a little bit, but I think we are lightyears away from where we are going to be really soon. Just taking open shots and they went in, everybody on the team does the same and if they drop, they usually lead the way.”
STATS & NOTES
- Five straight victories ties the team’s longest win streak of the season
- Boyd was the most efficient player on the floor between both teams, scoring a game high 18 points on five-for-six shooting.
- Junior guard Johnell Davis recorded his 13th consecutive game in double figures, scoring 14 points. He also added nine rebounds
- All 14 of Martin’s points came in the second half
- Bryan Greenlee’s six assists were a season high
- Florida Atlantic outscored Rice in the paint 36-14
- FAU recorded 18 fast break points and did not give up a single fast break score on the other end of the floor
- Florida Atlantic took full advantage of the charity stripe, going 15-for-17 for a season best 88% from the line
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic returns to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Sunday, Jan. 28 to take on North Texas (11-6, 4-1 AAC). The game will tip off at 1 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN2.
FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date on all things FAU men’s basketball, follow the Owls on social media @FAUMBB.
