FAU men’s basketball (3-3) lost 83-78 to the Troy University Trojans (4-2) in overtime Monday night in the Burrow at Abessinio Court. The loss was the third and final game of the Paradise Classic for the Owls, leaving them with a 2-1 record over the course of the tournament. 

The Owls started off strong thanks to a solid performance from freshman guard Alijah Green. Martin was all over both sides of the court, continuously setting the pace on fastbreaks and went into halftime with nine points and three rebounds, shooting 4-9 from the field. 

Along with a strong showing by Martin, a good first half performance from the FAU bench gave them a 35-32 lead going into halftime. The Owls’ bench outscored the starting five 19-15 in the first half. 

“Going into half we felt good about where we were,” said head coach Dusty May. “We just felt like we needed to buckle down and find a way to get some stops and rebound the ball.” 

Throughout the second half, the game remained a tightly contested affair throughout the second half with the score tied at 68 with 1:42 to play in the game after freshman center Vladislav Goldin made a layup. 

On the following FAU possession, Martin completed a three-point play after drawing a foul to give the Owls a 71-68 lead. 

Troy retook the lead at 73-72 after guard Duke Deen went 3-3 from the free-throw line for the Trojans. Despite that, FAU’s graduate guard Everett Winchester drew a foul and made one free-throw on the next possession, leaving the score tied 73-73 at the end of regulation. 

Unfortunately, Troy went on to outscore FAU 10-5 in overtime to secure the road win at FAU’s expense. 

FAU shot 44.3% from the field and a rough 28.6% from three-point range with Martin as its leading scorer, ending the night with 22 points, eight rebounds, and an assist. 

The Owls will take a six-day break over the holiday before hosting the James Madison University Dukes on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. in the Burrow at Abessinio Court. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

22Cameron Priester is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron.