No. 13 Owls Complete Comeback in The Field of 68 Tip Off

Saturday, December 2

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

7-1,0-0AAC

Charleston

4-4,0-0CAA

Col. of Charleston

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: Keira Arimenta

12/2/2023 9:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 13 Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team (7-1) concluded the Field of 68 Classic with a rousing 81-69 victory over Charleston (4-4) on Saturday evening.

While the Owls faced their biggest adversity of the young season, facing their first halftime deficit, a now-characteristic second half offensive explosion and defensive shutdown took place in front of an electric FAU crowd, with Florida Atlantic outscoring Charleston, 50-28.

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

First Half

It was another strong start for the Owls, getting the first bucket and building a lead early on. The ball was spread around with seven assists on their first eight shots.

Junior big man Giancarlo Rosado led the way in the period with 12 points on 4-4 shooting and six rebounds.

Soon, however, Charleston would find the lead, growing as high as nine with under two minutes to go. The Owls would enter the locker room trailing 46-40.

Second Half

The battle continued in the second half. Florida Atlantic would find their offense primarily from three scorers: junior guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, as well as the nation's leader in field goal percentage Vlad Goldin.

Davis kept finding his way inside on fastbreak driving layups for 15 points, Goldin played bully ball throughout with 13 points and nabbed 11 rebounds in one half alone, and Martin added eight points with multiple highlight slam dunks.

The score from Davis with 13:24 to go gave the Owls a 56-55 lead which they would not relinquish. Florida Atlantic was keyed by a 63% shooting performance from the field in the half while holding Charleston to just 22.9% on 8-35 shooting.

Quotable

Head Coach Dusty May
"Shout out to our fans. The energy, the juice, even when we weren't playing well, they brought it. When you feel the crowd behind you like we did, it is obvious the impact it has. Also, what an honor to be a part of the first Field of 68 event. They were first class, this was a really cool deal against two great non Power Five programs. It's an honor to be included in things like this, they did an unbelievable job just making this a big deal for those of us that have players that deserve things like this."

Junior Guard Johnell Davis
"My teammates just kept finding me in transition and I kept going to the lane and finishing."

Stats & Notes

Davis led in scoring with 24, his second 20+ point outing of the 2023-24 campaign
For the first time this season, two Owls recorded double doubles in the same game: Davis (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Goldin (17 points, 12 rebounds)
Goldin, the nation's leader in field goal percentage, continues to not miss. His 7-8 performance puts him at 75% on the season
With 55% from the field, the Owls have now reached the over 50% mark in five games
Florida Atlantic got to the free throw-line a season high 29 times
The Owls outscored the Cougars 52-24 in the paint
Florida Atlantic held a 45-34 rebounding advantage

Up Next

The Owls will have another quick turnaround, heading back to the location in which Florida Atlantic earned their first Final Four appearance. Florida Atlantic will participate in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, taking on No. 24 Illinois at 6:30 p.m. EST, to be aired on ESPN.

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