BOCA RATON, Fla. (FAUSports.com) – College basketball games are 40 minutes long. Florida Atlantic University (9-8, 2-2 CUSA) led Charlotte for 39 minutes and 40 seconds Monday afternoon, en route to a convincing 96-67 victory over the 49ers (9-6, 2-1). The Owls shot 16-of-21 from 3-point range, breaking the school record for single-game 3-point field goal percentage, converting 76.2 percent of their attempts.
FAU’s freshman center Vlad Goldin scored the first six points for the Owls and they never looked back. Goldin tallied 14 points and was one of four Owls to reach double digits. Alijah Martin led FAU with 20 points, while Bryan Greenlee scored 16. Michael Forrest added 14 for the Owls to round out the quartet.
“For the guys to come out against a quality opponent, a well-coached opponent and play as well as they did, as unselfishly as they did … it’s very rewarding as a coach to see your guys not care who scores or who gets the credit but simply play for each other and play for FAU,” head coach Dusty May said following the victory. “I thought our decision-making was excellent tonight. They simply moved the ball, attacked close-outs and made open shots. I thought almost everyone who scored, most all their points were created off the work from their teammates.”
Jahmir Young hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the game to pull Charlotte within one point, 4-3. The 49ers never got closer than that. Young did his damage, going off for a game-high 30 points. But FAU’s defense made it difficult on Young’s teammates and steadily pulled away throughout the course of the contest.
Following Young’s early triple, the Owls put together a 9-0 spurt to go up 13-3. Midway through the second half, Charlotte trailed by just six when Martin started to take over. A tipout offensive rebound by Goldin ended up in the hands of Martin for a 3-pointer. He added another from long range less than a minute later and FAU led by 12 points, 26-14. Charlotte cut its deficit to single digits again.
FAU led by 10 early in the second half after a pair of free throws and a Young layup. But Goldin scored in the paint starting a 13-2 run for the Owls, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Forrest. A Greenlee triple with 16 minutes left pushed the FAU edge to 21, 62-41.
The Owls just continued to pull away from there, eventually opening up a 33-point lead late in the contest, before scoring the 29-point win.
FAU’s 16 made from 3-point range, hitting 15 or more triples for the first time since a 98-79 win over North Dakota, on Nov. 20. FAU shot 53 percent from inside the 3-point stripe.The previous record for 3-point percentage in a game was .706 (12-of-17) vs. Kennesaw State way back on Feb. 18, 2006.
The Owls were also over 90 percent from the free-throw line, converting 12-of-13 attempts. The Owls only turned the ball over eight times and held a 23-9 edge in points off turnovers, while holding a 28-12 advantage in bench points.
“I thought we just played good, solid offensive basketball,” May said. “I don’t think we did anything special, we just let our guys do what they do. Our bench the last four or give games has really showed growth and development. Good teams have a lot of guys who are sacrificing minutes … in order to play on a good team. Hopefully, that’s what we’re becoming, where we have guys who are good enough and staying ready, so that when their number is called, they’re going to produce.”
Monday’s victory was the first contest of a three-game homestand this week. The Owls host Western Kentucky Thursday evening at The Burrow, while Marshall visits Abessinio Court Saturday.
