Owls Victorious in Home Opener

Saturday, November 13

Boca Raton, Fla.

4 PM

Florida Atlantic

-11,00 CUSA

Warner

0-1

Warner

Fla. Atlantic

11/13/2021 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University men's basketball took its home opener on Saturday evening, defeating Warner, 78-56, on Abessinio Court at FAU Arena.

Quotable

Head Coach Dusty May:
"Definitely excited to find a way to win, we didn't play very well. We definitely wanted to get home and put on a better representation of where we are to our fans. We have a homestand coming up, so we just have to play better basketball, play more together with much more edge. Very very proud of Alejandro Ralat, the energy he brought, the tenacity and the teamwork he brought to the table."

The Beginning

In the first half, the Owls led for all but 44 seconds, but early on, by no more than five. A late run, when FAU scored 10 of the half's last 15, meant an 11-point lead heading into the locker room at 32-21.

The Turning Point

The second half began sloppily – on both sides – until the Owls' offense turned it on. They scored 12 points in a row over the span of 1:38 to extend the advantage from nine to 21 points, 46-25, at the 14:54 mark. In the run, Alejandro Ralat had a one-on-one opencourt steal and an assist ahead on Bryan Greenlee's fastbreak layup, followed by back-to-back Brandon Weatherspoon, and ending on two technical free throws by Ralat.

The Finish

The Owls got their biggest lead at the end, on a 12-3 run. Bogdan Zimonjic scored the first seven points of his career, Dardan Kapiti threw down a dunk off a Zimonjic assist, and Johnell Davis hung in the air for an above-the-rim lay-in.

Owl the Stats

Martin paced the squad with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc
Weatherspoon was next, making three 3's among his 15 points
Johnell Davis chipped in with eight points, and as mentioned, Zimonjic poured in his flurry of seven in just 2:42. Michael Forrest also added seven
The Owls outrebounded the Royals 46-34, including a 17-3 disparity on offensive boards
Forrest led the way with seven rebounds, Madiaw Niang had six, and Martin and Giancarlo Rosado five apiece
FAU's defense forced 21 Warner turnovers, which led to a 26-8 points-off-turnover advantage. Forrest had four steals and Ralat three