Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley/University of Miami At
Owls Open C-USA Tournament Wednesday
3/8/2022 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FRISCO, Texas (FAUSports.com) -- The Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team earned the No. 3 seed in the Conference USA East Division and will begin play at the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Championship tournament Wednesday night vs. Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles earned their way into the second-round game with a 67-64 win over UTSA in Tuesday night's first round action.
The Owls set a new program-best for wins in Conference USA in the 2021-22 season. FAU finished 11-7 in C-USA, besting 2018-19's win total of eight. The Owls have also clinched a fourth-consecutive winning season for FAU, a first in program history.
The Owls' 11 conference victories were the most in any conference for FAU since the 2010-11 season, when the team was 13-3 in Sun Belt play. Their 18 wins is also the most since a 21-11 mark in 2010-11.
Southern Miss is the No. 7 seed from the C-USA West. FAU hosted Southern Miss on Feb. 5 and rolled to an 84-57 victory.
FAU is 3-6 all-time in Conference USA Championship tournament play. The Owls have never won more than one game at the C-USA tournament.
The FAU second-round tilt will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and will be streamed on ESPN+.
An FAU Win Would ...
• Put FAU in to the C-USA Quarterfinals for the third straight season
• Be the Owls' fourth victory in C-USA Tournament play
• Pit FAU vs. UAB with chance to avenge a 67-65 road loss to the Blazers back in Jan.
• Be WAY better than a loss
History Made
FAU has clinched its fourth consecutive winning season, making Dusty May the first Owls' head coach ever to lead a team to four straight winning seasons. Back in 1992, Tim Loomis coached the Owls to three straight seasons with a winning percentage above .500 while the team was a member of NCAA Division II.
It is also the first time in school history the Owls have accomplished that feat.
Scoring Record In Sight
The Owls have scored 2,296 points so far this season. They need just 71 more to tie the program record for most points in a season. The 2007-08 team scored 2,367. This year's squad currently has the fourth-highest total in school history. FAU averages 74.1 points per game.
A-Mart Making A Mark
After averaging 4.2 points in his first season, Alijah Martin is scoring 14.1 ppg this season to lead the team. He has reached 10+ points in 24 of 31 games this year. He tallied 10+ points just 4 times in 2020-21. He leads the team shooting .410 from 3-point range, which ranks No. 2 in C-USA and No. 29 in the nation. As a 6-foot 2-inch guard, Martin's 5.3 rebounds per game leads the team. He's also leading the team in steals with 1.6 per game. Martin was named All-Conference USA Third Team earlier this week, making him just the fourth Owl to be named to an All-CUSA first, second or third team.
Reliable Rosado
Also one of the first Owls off the bench, Giancarlo Rosado has really stepped up his play in the back half of the league slate. Rosado is No. 3 on the team in scoring over the last nine games, averaging 8.1 points per game. He has the top field-goal percentage of any Owl in that span, converting at a .640 clip.
Last Time Out - FAU 84, FIU 76
Alijah Martin scored a career-best 34 points and the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team held off a second-half rally to defeat FIU 84-76 Satruday afternoon at FAU Arena.
Martin's 34 points were the most for an Owl since Cornelius Taylor scored 34 against Rice more than two years ago. Martin was 11-of-17 from the field, including a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range and a thunderous second-half dunk. Martin also grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
"He was aggressive. He came up with some big loose balls," FAU head coach Dusty May said, crediting Martin's intangible contributions to the victory as well as his scoring. "He made 3-pointers, he was getting to the rim. He just continues to grow and improve and he's turned into a special player."
FAU (18-13, 11-7 CUSA) needed every one of Martin's contributions, as FIU looked to erase a 21-point halftime deficit. FAU led 50-29 at halftime, but the Panthers shot 56 percent in the second half and held the Owls to under 30 percent shooting and climbed all the way back within one possession. With just 88 seconds remaining in the game, a Clevon Brown dunk cut the FIU (15-16, 5-13 CUSA) deficit to just two points, 76-74. It was still two points with 1:11 remaining.
But the Owls got a couple huge stops and made six-of-six from the free throw line over the final 71 seconds to hold on for the victory. Martin made the first two at the line, while Greenlee made the final four. Greenlee scored 17 points, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line and a pair of 3-pointers. Giancarlo Rosado scored 12 points off the bench, going 5-of-7 from the field.
FAU's 50-point first half was its largest first-half offensive output of the season. The Owls were on fire in the first half, shooting over 63 percent from the field and nearly 47 percent from 3-point range.
The victory sent three seniors who were honored before the game – Everett Winchester, Bitumba Baruti and Brant Ulmer – out as winners in their final contest at The Burrow. It also continued a season where the Owls have clinched a winning season for the fourth year in a row, a first in program history. The win also secured a program-best 11 wins in Conference USA action.
The Owls set a new program-best for wins in Conference USA in the 2021-22 season. FAU finished 11-7 in C-USA, besting 2018-19's win total of eight. The Owls have also clinched a fourth-consecutive winning season for FAU, a first in program history.
The Owls' 11 conference victories were the most in any conference for FAU since the 2010-11 season, when the team was 13-3 in Sun Belt play. Their 18 wins is also the most since a 21-11 mark in 2010-11.
Southern Miss is the No. 7 seed from the C-USA West. FAU hosted Southern Miss on Feb. 5 and rolled to an 84-57 victory.
FAU is 3-6 all-time in Conference USA Championship tournament play. The Owls have never won more than one game at the C-USA tournament.
The FAU second-round tilt will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and will be streamed on ESPN+.
An FAU Win Would ...
• Put FAU in to the C-USA Quarterfinals for the third straight season
• Be the Owls' fourth victory in C-USA Tournament play
• Pit FAU vs. UAB with chance to avenge a 67-65 road loss to the Blazers back in Jan.
• Be WAY better than a loss
History Made
FAU has clinched its fourth consecutive winning season, making Dusty May the first Owls' head coach ever to lead a team to four straight winning seasons. Back in 1992, Tim Loomis coached the Owls to three straight seasons with a winning percentage above .500 while the team was a member of NCAA Division II.
It is also the first time in school history the Owls have accomplished that feat.
Scoring Record In Sight
The Owls have scored 2,296 points so far this season. They need just 71 more to tie the program record for most points in a season. The 2007-08 team scored 2,367. This year's squad currently has the fourth-highest total in school history. FAU averages 74.1 points per game.
A-Mart Making A Mark
After averaging 4.2 points in his first season, Alijah Martin is scoring 14.1 ppg this season to lead the team. He has reached 10+ points in 24 of 31 games this year. He tallied 10+ points just 4 times in 2020-21. He leads the team shooting .410 from 3-point range, which ranks No. 2 in C-USA and No. 29 in the nation. As a 6-foot 2-inch guard, Martin's 5.3 rebounds per game leads the team. He's also leading the team in steals with 1.6 per game. Martin was named All-Conference USA Third Team earlier this week, making him just the fourth Owl to be named to an All-CUSA first, second or third team.
Reliable Rosado
Also one of the first Owls off the bench, Giancarlo Rosado has really stepped up his play in the back half of the league slate. Rosado is No. 3 on the team in scoring over the last nine games, averaging 8.1 points per game. He has the top field-goal percentage of any Owl in that span, converting at a .640 clip.
Last Time Out - FAU 84, FIU 76
Alijah Martin scored a career-best 34 points and the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team held off a second-half rally to defeat FIU 84-76 Satruday afternoon at FAU Arena.
Martin's 34 points were the most for an Owl since Cornelius Taylor scored 34 against Rice more than two years ago. Martin was 11-of-17 from the field, including a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range and a thunderous second-half dunk. Martin also grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
"He was aggressive. He came up with some big loose balls," FAU head coach Dusty May said, crediting Martin's intangible contributions to the victory as well as his scoring. "He made 3-pointers, he was getting to the rim. He just continues to grow and improve and he's turned into a special player."
FAU (18-13, 11-7 CUSA) needed every one of Martin's contributions, as FIU looked to erase a 21-point halftime deficit. FAU led 50-29 at halftime, but the Panthers shot 56 percent in the second half and held the Owls to under 30 percent shooting and climbed all the way back within one possession. With just 88 seconds remaining in the game, a Clevon Brown dunk cut the FIU (15-16, 5-13 CUSA) deficit to just two points, 76-74. It was still two points with 1:11 remaining.
But the Owls got a couple huge stops and made six-of-six from the free throw line over the final 71 seconds to hold on for the victory. Martin made the first two at the line, while Greenlee made the final four. Greenlee scored 17 points, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line and a pair of 3-pointers. Giancarlo Rosado scored 12 points off the bench, going 5-of-7 from the field.
FAU's 50-point first half was its largest first-half offensive output of the season. The Owls were on fire in the first half, shooting over 63 percent from the field and nearly 47 percent from 3-point range.
The victory sent three seniors who were honored before the game – Everett Winchester, Bitumba Baruti and Brant Ulmer – out as winners in their final contest at The Burrow. It also continued a season where the Owls have clinched a winning season for the fourth year in a row, a first in program history. The win also secured a program-best 11 wins in Conference USA action.
Players Mentioned
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