No. 20 Owls Fall Short in Birmingham

Thursday, February 8

Birmingham, Ala.

9 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

18-5,8-2AAC

UAB

15-8,7-3AAC

OT 1

Fla. Atlantic

UAB

Photo by: Michael Wade

2/9/2024 12:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Ben Paul

BIRMINGHAM – The No. 20 Florida Atlantic men's basketball team (18-5, 8-2 AAC), fell in overtime to UAB (15-8, 7-3 AAC) on Thursday evening by a score of 76-73.

A tough and physical outing did not end up in the Owls' favor as they saw their seven-game winning streak snapped.

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

FIRST HALF

The Owls attacked the basket early and often. The tone of the opening frame was set by Alijah Martin scoring nine points and nabbing four rebounds while the team forced five Blazer turnovers in the first seven minutes.

A back-and-forth first half would culminate in a two-person takeover with senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon and junior guard Johnell Davis combining for the Owls' final 10 points in the last three minutes. Florida Atlantic entered to the locker room with a 39-32 advantage.

SECOND HALF

The seven-point lead turned into a seven-point deficit with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, but Florida Atlantic quickly erased it with back-to-back triples from Davis and senior guard Jalen Gaffney.

Two free throws by Davis put the Owls up by one with two minutes to go. The final bucket in regulation from Florida Atlantic came from a hook shot by junior center Vlad Goldin with a minute and 30 seconds to take a 67-65 lead, but the Blazers would come right back and tie it.

The ball ended up in the hands of the Blazers who recorded multiple misses. While the Owls got the rebound with five seconds left in regulation, a last-second sprint by Gaffney to the other end of the court and a final pass could not lead to a score, sending FAU to their third overtime game of the season.

OVERTIME

Both of Florida Atlantic's scores in OT came from beyond the arc: one from redshirt sophomore guard Nick Boyd and another from Martin.

These were not enough to overcome deep jump shots by the Blazers offense, to give the Owls the defeat.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Dusty May
"We didn't finish around the rim nearly well enough. [UAB] were very disciplined staying on our shot fakes as well, so compliment to them. They didn't bite on any of the fakes, made the shots tough for us. This is what we expected coming into this environment, into this arena, a very difficult place to play. We have to clean a few things up before Wichita on Sunday."

STATS & NOTES

Davis led the team in points (17), rebounds (11), and assists (five). This marked his third double double of the season
Martin tied his career high with four steals
Senior guard Bryan Greenlee reached 1,000 career points
Gaffney hit multiple clutch shots, recording a team high three triples and had a team high +10 mark when on the floor
Weatherspoon scored 12 points on five-for-eight shooting
21 offensive rebounds were a season high for FAU
For the third game in a row, the Owls had a massive advantage in fastbreak points, scoring 16 to UAB's four

UP NEXT

The Owls will conclude their road trip with a matchup against Wichita State (10-13, 2-8 AAC) on Sunday, Feb. 11. It will be an early tip off on ESPN2, set to begin at noon.

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