BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 10 Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team (2-0) kept up their strong start to the 2023-24 season with a crushing 100-57 victory over Eastern Michigan (1-2) on Tuesday evening.
Now at 19 straight home victories, the Owls dominated in their first game of the season at the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in front of a record crowd of 3,161 thanks to a strong shooting night (62.5% from the field, 52% from three-point range) and 25 assists.
For the second season in a row, the Owls hit 100 points against the Eagles who had no answers for an on-fire Florida Atlantic offense.
FIRST HALF
From the opening tip, it felt like the Owls could not miss. The tone was set just five seconds in when Nick Boyd found the previous game’s hero Vlad Goldin for the alley oop slam.
The rest of the half was all Owls, sparked by an 18-3 run early on. Brandon Weatherspoon, fresh off a 4-5 shooting performance in the opening game, followed it up with a 4-4 shooting first half. FAU ultimately entered the locker room with a 51-28 advantage.
SECOND HALF
The perfect shooting nights continued for Bryan Greenlee and Weatherspoon, who combined for 10-10 from the field and 8-8 from downtown on the night.
It continued to rain threes in Boca Raton with the Owls going 7-11 during the entire period. Soon it became apparent that the FAU would be able to cross the century mark, but would need one more offensive explosion. In came Brenen Lorient, who provided a highlight dunk and a jumper, and two late layups from Tre Carroll to officially put three digits on the board.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Dusty May
“Coming off the season that we had and a relatively long offseason, even though it was shorter compared to years’ past, you never know how young men are going to perform in a new environment. We started to get good crowds last year, but the anticipation with our fans and our students, it was impressive. There was a buzz an hour before the game and our guys have created a heck of an environment because of the way that they play the game, their level of unselfishness, the intensity that they play with and I am proud to be associated with them. As long as we don’t change who we are from a character standpoint, we are going to have a great season. What that looks like, who knows?”
Senior Guard Brandon Weatherspoon
“It [his hot shooting] came from my teammates, they just kept giving me open shots. It’s FAU basketball and on any night, it can be anyone’s night. I am fine with it being my night, on Saturday night it might not be night and I am fine with that.”
Junior Forward Giancarlo Rosado
“We are about the work. We serve for each other. We are going to compete at the end of the day, win or loss, we play together.”
STATS & NOTES
- You name it, the Owls won the statline: Points off turnovers (21-6), rebounds (39-22), bench points (41-15), points in the paint (54-30), fast break points (20-2), and assists (25-7)
- Goldin was the golden man for the Owls once again, tying his career-high with 19 points for the second game in a row
- The team’s top five scorers: Goldin (19), Weatherspoon (16), Lorient (13), Rosado (13), and Greenlee (12) shot for a combined 84% from the field (24-37)
- With a perfect 3-3 shooting night, Greenlee has gone a combined 12-13 against EMU in his collegiate career
- Weatherspoon is now shooting 10-11 on the season
- Greenlee, Boyd, and Jalen Gaffney both put forth a 5+ assist night, with Boyd setting his career high (7)
- Redshirt freshmen Jack Johnson and Leo Beath made their Owl debuts
UP NEXT
Fans will get another chance this Saturday to watch the high-flying Owls at the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena and look to extend their home winning streak to 20. The opponent will be Bryant in the second annual Boca Raton MegaBowl.
FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date on all things FAU men’s basketball, follow the Owls on social media @FAUMBB.
