BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
If anyone thought that the Tulane Green Wave was coming to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton with a 13-14 record to get blown out on Saturday, they were totally wrong.
Before the game, I spoke to Green Wave Broadcaster Corey Gloor and he said the team was having a tough luck campaign. Tulane entered the contest on a five-game losing streak with the intent to snap it.
With 8:26 left in the first half, Tulane led 24-19 and shot 58% from the field against an FAU team that had six days off and shot 40 %. FAU’s offense went through center Vladislav Goldin, who had eight points.
With 3:47 left in the first half, FAU finally grabbed a 33-26 lead and led 36-29 at halftime. FAU shot 12-27 from the field (44%) and was 5-13 from the three-point line at 64%.
Tulane’s numbers plummeted to 13-32 from the field for 41% and 1-9 from three point land for 11%.
At the 14:51 mark in the second half, the Owls built their lead to 50-33 and also led 74-62.
But Tulane kept battling but came up on the short end of a 79-73 decision to drop to 13-15 and saw their losing streak reach six games.
The Owls were led by Goldin, who amassed 21 points and had 12 rebounds. Alijah Martin had 13 points along with 11 rebounds followed by Jalen Gaffney 13 points and Nick Boyd with 10. Multiple players in double figures is how this team finds a way to win.
FAU’s best player Johnell David had eight points but fouled out with 44.3 seconds left in the contest.
Just to explain to you how hard fought this game was, FAU led 36-29 at halftime, but Tulane outscored FAU 44-43 in the second half.
There were eight lead changes and the game was tied five times.
FAU dominated the boards with 42 rebounds while their opponent from New Orleans had 32.
But if there is one area that FAU knows it has to get straightened out it’s with turnovers as the Owls led in a category that you don’t want to lead, 18-9.
When the game was over, I asked Coach Dusty May if his team felt a bit rusty with six days rest coming off Sunday’s 78-74 loss in Tennessee vs the Memphis Tigers. My question and all of the comments can be heard in the video in this story.
As selection Sunday approaches, the Owls have their hands full this week as they face North Texas 16-12 on the road and have Memphis 22-8 at home on Saturday.
FAU defeated North Texas 66-63 on Sunday, January 28 and I just mentioned Memphis win 78-74 win.
May knows that to get back to the NCAA Tournament, these are vital basketball games with the American Athletic Conference Tournament next week.
It won’t be long to find out whether FAU returns to the NCAA Tournament, but the Owls have a pair of tough games this week and those contests will go a long way in making that determination.
Sunday’s game versus Memphis starts at Noon ET and will be Senior Day. We’re going to learn a lot about an FAU team that currently owns a 22-7 mark and see if the “Owls Are Built For March Madness.”
Scott Morganroth can be reached at [email protected] and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.
You can watch his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.
Also, Scott has a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” that talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. You can purchase it on Amazon and Kindle.
