No. 13 Owls Win Field of 68 Tip Off Opener

Thursday, November 30

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

6-1,0-0AAC

Liberty

6-1,0-0CUSA

Liberty

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Florida Atlantic

11/30/2023 9:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 13 Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team (6-1) took down a previously undefeated Liberty (6-1), 83-58, in the opening game of the Field of 68 Tip Off.

It was another wire-to-wire victory with a strong shooting performance for the Owls, who knocked in 54.5% of their shots from the field and 50% from three-point range.

Florida Atlantic's 2023-24 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.

First Half

The Owls worked their way inside to get buckets, with their first five field goals coming from the paint and nabbed seven offensive boards in the first eight minutes.

Soon enough, the outside shots began to fall. A three-pointer by Brenen Lorient, the first of his collegiate career followed by another one from Weatherspoon gave the Owls an 11-point lead off an 8-0 run. The offense continued to flow on 50% shooting from the field and 50% from downtown, culminating in a 44-27 halftime lead.

It was a showcase on both ends of the court for junior guard Alijah Martin with 14 points on 6-9 shooting, five rebounds, and two steals.

Second Half

Shots continued to fall for the Owls early on in the period as they grew the lead to 20 points.

While the Flames would close the gap and were able to hold Florida Atlantic without a field goal for almost five minutes, the Owls went on a 17-2 run to put the game out of reach.

FAU would only miss seven shots in the period with an efficient 12-19. The Owls attacked the paint aggressively and were rewarded with 15 free throw attempts, of which they made 12.

Quotable

Head Coach Dusty May
On the keys to victory
"The way we handled recent success in Orlando, I thought our guys had a great mindset and preparation for Liberty, and that is not difficult to do because of the respect we have for their program, their staff, their players, and the way they play this game. We were so happy with our defensive performance tonight and you look at the stat sheet that we were able to shoot the percentages we got and take what the gives us. Alijah (Martin) had an amazing statline, but the biggest impact he had were the loose basketballs and the extra possessions for our guys…I thought it came down to the little things, quickness to the ball, defensive energy, and our guys played at a high level. But more mountains, we have a quick turnaround and another big time team coming in Saturday."

Junior Guard Alijah Martin
On how he improved his game in the offseason
"I really focused on my shooting, I was working on handles, getting to the rim, being able to make tough shots."

Stats & Notes

Martin finished the night with his second 20-point outing of the season
Vlad Goldin had another big night with 18 points on 7-9 shooting. He is now up to 74% from the field on the season, second in the nation
The Owls hit the glass early and often, finishing the night with a 10-rebound advantage (39-29). Rosado led the way with a season-high nine and three other Owls added at least five (Goldin with seven, Martin with six, and Johnell Davis with five)
Florida Atlantic outscored Liberty 46-26 in the paint
The Owls have led a game from start to finish four times out of seven games

Up Next

The Owls will return to the court on Saturday, 6 p.m. EST, to host Charleston as part of the final game of the Field of 68 Tip Off. The game will be aired on ESPNU.

Follow the Owls

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