No. 23 Florida Atlantic's Offense Lifts Team to OT Victory

Sunday, January 21

San Antonio, Texas

3 p.m. EST

Florida Atlantic

15-4,5-1AAC

112

103

UTSA

7-12,1-5AAC

OT 1

Fla. Atlantic

112

UTSA

103

1/21/2024 6:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

SAN ANTONIO – A historic day on offense propelled the No. 23 Florida Atlantic men's basketball team (15-4, 5-1 AAC) to a 112-103 overtime victory over UTSA (7-12, 1-5 AAC) on Sunday afternoon.

Junior guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin combined for 60 points, 39 coming in the second half and overtime, as the Owls stormed back from a 16-point deficit.

The shots kept falling all afternoon for FAU, who as a team shot 52% from the field and 48.6% from downtown on the way to 112 points, tied for the second most in a game in program history.

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

First Half

From the get-go, the game was be an offensive battle. Florida Atlantic trailed by as much as 16, but the Owls kept firing away and were eventually rewarded.

Eight straight points for Davis sparked a 12-2 run. The Owls hit 10 of 12 shots towards the end of the half to cut the deficit to as little as three. Florida Atlantic ended the half shooting 54.5% from the field and made 10 three-pointers on 18 attempts.

While FAU entered halftime with 49 points, their most in the first period all season, they trailed the Roadrunners by four.

Second Half

The Owls opened up the second half with a quick steal and score for Davis. Florida Atlantic picked up their first lead of the game early on in the period with a Martin triple, though UTSA would come right back with shots of their own.

A back-and-forth battle ensued for the rest of the half, with a roaring Vlad Goldin slam dunk giving the Owls an 82-81 lead with just under four minutes to play. No longer playing from behind, the ball was put in Davis' hands for three straight possessions, keeping the Owls ahead with a field goal and four free throws.

UTSA would not go down without a fight and clawed their way back to take the lead with under 30 seconds remaining. Trailing by three with 16 seconds to go, Davis threw up a shot from beyond the arc and drew the foul. He would swish all three free throw attempts to send the game to overtime.

Overtime

Florida Atlantic converted six of their eight shots, two from downtown, to record 21 points in the five extra minutes.

Overtime was Martin's time to shine. With the game tied at 96, he forced a steal and turned it into a three-point play on the other end, the first three of nine points in the period to put the game away.

Quotable

Head Coach Dusty May
"We have guys that made big, big plays, whether it was a hustle play off of a rebound, a big shot, a great pass, whatever the case, they believe in each other and have a really high level of trust that the next guy is going to make a play. Obviously, Nelly [Johnell Davis] makes a lot of plays down the stretch, but the attention he and Alijah (Martin) received late were the reasons I thought (Brandon) Weatherspoon, Nick (Boyd), and Vlad (Goldin) got a couple of baskets. Just a great team efforts. UTSA played really well, had a great gameplan and had us on our heels…that was a heck of a college basketball game and fortunately we came out on the right side of the win/loss column."

Junior Guard Johnell Davis
"For the spot we are trying to get to, we know we have to win these types of games, we just have to keep playing and closing stuff out."

Stats & Notes

This marked the Owls' second 100+ point performance of the season and seventh game with at least 90, surpassing the previous season's mark of six
112 points in one game ties the mark set by Florida Atlantic on Dec. 12, 2020 for the second most in school history
With 34 points, Davis recorded his second 30+ point performance in the last three games and now has 12 straight games scoring at least 14 points
Martin tied his career high with six three-pointers on his way to 26 points
Senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon recorded his Owl career high of 21 points (6-for-12 FG, four-for-seven from three-point range)
The Owls recorded 21 assists, the sixth time reaching the 20+ mark this season. Nick Boyd led the way with a season high of six and Martin added a career-high-tying five
Florida Atlantic drilled a season high 17 three-pointers
Down by 16, this marked the Owls' biggest comeback of the season
FAU was efficient in holding onto the ball, tying a season low with just seven turnovers while scoring 20 points off UTSA's 13 compared to giving up three

Up Next

Florida Atlantic will wrap up their road trip in Houston, the host city of the 2023 Final Four, to take on Rice (7-11, 1-4 AAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The game will aired on ESPN+ and tip off at 8 p.m. EST.

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