| BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball bounced back Wednesday night, 83-73 over Stetson on Abessinio Court inside FAU Arena, putting five Owls in double digits in the home victory. QuotableHead Coach Dusty May: “I was proud with our fight. I thought we came out with purpose, we had great energy (and) we were very intentional defensively. When we got into the lead, we let off the gas a little bit … instead of competing and improving every single possession. “Going forward, we have to take advantage and never take a single possession for granted because there’s so much to learn. Very happy with our guys. We had two really good days of practice the last few days after losing two in a row. That’s got to be our objective: to come out and practice better, and then play the games just like we practice.” The BeginningIt was a two-point game just past the midway mark of the first half, but then the Owls (4-4) went on a 20-5 run spanning the next seven minutes, which including twin 9-0 stretches. That led to a 14-point lead, 39-25, at the break over the Hatters (2-4). The Turning PointThe FAU lead increased to as many as 17, at 60-43 with 13 1/2 minutes left, but Stetson chipped away to cut it to single digits, putting forth a 12-3 run of their own. The Owls responded with eight straight, including an Everett Winchester floater and Alijah Martin dunk, to move back out by 15 at the under-eight media timeout. The FinishThe advantage dipped to nine two minutes later, but again the Owls countered, with seven in a row: a lay-in by Vladislav Goldin (off a nice assist from Bryan Greenlee), a Greenlee 3-pointer, and a Goldin hook shot from outside the lane. The closest it would get would be 10 in the final minute and a half. Owl the StatsMartin led the five double-digit scorers with 17, on 8-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-8 inside the arcAlso 7-of-8, but overall, was Winchester, towards his 15 pointsGreenlee came in next with 13, and tied his career best with seven assists (part of the Owls’ season-high-tying 21)Goldin filled the ledger by scoring 12, leading the Owls with eight rebounds, and notching career highs of four assists and three stealsMichael Forrest rounded out the quintet with 10, and recorded a season high five assists against just one turnoverThe team shot a season-best 58.6% from the field, made all six of its free throws, and outscored the Hatters 27-9 off turnoversWhat’s NextThe Owls host North Florida this upcoming Sunday afternoon. Tipoff against the Ospreys will be at 2 p.m. For tickets, click HERE or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS. Follow the OwlsFor the most up-to-date information on the squad, follow along on Twitter (@FAUMBB), Instagram (@FAUMBB) and Facebook (FAU Men’s Basketball). |
