The FAU men’s basketball team (4-4) defeated the Stetson Hatters (2-4) 83-73 at home in the Burrow Thursday night. Freshman guard Alijah Martin led the Owls with 17 points, five rebounds, and two assists. 

The game got off to a slow start until a putback dunk from freshman center Vladislav Goldin awoke the home crowd about four minutes into the first half. From there, it was all Owls.

Stetson briefly held a two-point lead early on while FAU led by as much as 17. Head coach Dusty May was particularly impressed to see his team come out attacking early on.

“I was proud with our fight, I thought we came out with purpose. We were very intentional defensively,” May said. 

Goldin’s play was a talking point after the game. The young center excelled on defense with three steals and passing the ball to his teammates, totaling four assists.

Goldin jokingly referred to himself as “Jokic” due to his fine playmaking tonight. Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s reigning MVP who Goldin resembles in stature and skill.

“I can pass the ball, when I score a couple times, they start to double me and I had the opportunity to find my teammates,” Goldin said. 

A flashy dunk from Martin in the second half cut off a Stetson comeback and put the Owls up 66-55. 

Martin has been performing well in his second season with the team and his first as a full-time starter. He is averaging 13.1 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game on 45.8% shooting from the field. 

Graduate guard Everett Winchester had 15 points on 7-8 shooting. May was impressed by his playmaking and ability to take pressure off of the rest of the offense.

“He was able to score at the 6-12 foot range. He hit some really nice shots and we were able to break down their zone because of his playmaking ability in the middle,” May said. 

The Owls next host the University of North Florida on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV. 

Kevin Garcia is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email him [email protected] or follow him on twitter @kevingar658.