SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The 24th-ranked Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team continued its impressive winning streak on Thursday night. The Owls defeated UTSA by a final score of 83-64 for their 17th consecutive win, the second-longest winning streak in the nation this season.
Florida Atlantic’s record now stands at 18-1 as one of only four one-loss teams in the nation. The Owls are also an undefeated 8-0 in Conference USA to stand alone in first place. The win also marks the fifth-longest winning streak in Conference USA history.
After the Owls took a 46-30 lead into halftime, UTSA battled back and shortened the Owl lead to 56-46. FAU took control of the game from there, going on a massive 19-0 stretch to run out to a 75-46 advantage.
POSTGAME QUOTES FROM COACH MAY
“We put them to the line so many times early in the second half and it got us out of rhythm and out of flow, and we were in foul trouble,” FAU head coach Dusty May said. “Credit to UTSA, they came out and threw the first punch in the second half. We only shot 10-of-31 from three, but I thought we had some great looks, Nelly (Davis) Mike (Forrest) & Alijah (Martin) all had some great looks. We were happy with the shot selections, so we knew we would be able to win if we could tighten up some things defensively. Fortunately, our guys once again won the glass, this time by 11, and had a 16-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are the formulas for winning, and our guys have been able to do that night in and night out.”
STATS & NOTES
- Davis led the Owls in scoring once again for the fourth time in the last six games (all C-USA games). This time, Davis recorded 14 points off the bench along with five rebounds
- Brandon Weatherspoon scored 12 points in only 16 minutes, jump-starting the Owls’ offense early in the first half. Weatherspoon shot 4-of-8 from the floor and added four rebounds
- Alijah Martin scored 11 points off the bench and added seven rebounds along with three assists and three steals
- Nick Boyd scored 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and added four rebounds along with two steals
- Michael Forrest tallied nine points off the bench with along with four rebounds. Forrest went 3-of-6 from 3-point range
- Giancarlo Rosado delivered eight points and six rebounds off the bench
- FAU won the battle on the boards by a 46-35 margin. This is the 15th time in FAU’s 18 games that the Owls have won the rebounding category, and they are an undefeated 15-0 in those games
- The Owls’ defense limited the Roadrunners to 36.2% shooting from the field and 27.8% shooting from 3-point land
ROAD TRIP FINALE
The Owls will conclude their three-game road trip at UTEP on Saturday, Jan. 21 with a 9 p.m. eastern tip.
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