After a historic Final Four run in the 2023 NCAA basketball tournament, #10 Florida Atlantic Owls (1-0) opened up their season against Loyola University Chicago (0-1) Ramblers in the Barstool Sports Invitational. FAU tipped off the season with a 75-62 victory over Loyola on Wednesday night.
“Well, the things that we stress that are very important for us is that our guys did a great job,” stated head coach Dusty May. “Our execution wasn’t pretty at times. We made some defensive mistakes, but I thought the guys on the court covered for each other so well that even when we made mistakes, our effort was so great that we were able to overcome it because they were so connected at the defensive end.”
Junior center Vlad Goldin finished the night as the Owls’ leading scorer with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Goldin’s 19 points tie his career-high. Redshirt sophomore guard Boyd attributed 13 points, shooting a respective 60% from behind the arc.
“My team helped me a lot because I made the steal, and I just had to grab the ball and rebound,” said Goldin commenting on his double-double. “It was probably the same thing that make tough shots and I was able to reach it. There’s nothing crazy about that.”
Junior guard and AAC co-conference player Johnell Davis got the game’s first bucket with a fade-away jumper. Boyd followed that jumper with a deep three of his own, putting the Owls up 5-0 as Loyola struggled to find their footing in the opening minutes of the first half.
The Ramblers found some rhythm trying to keep up with the Owls after their first bucket by junior guard Desmond Watson and responded to Boyd’s layup with a three, bringing the game within one.
Despite an offensive foul call reversed, senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon responded with a three-pointer on a Loyola turnover.
Loyola graduate forward Patrick Mwamba brought the game within two but FAU junior guard and AAC co-conference player Alijah Martin hit his first three to extend their lead back to five.
The Ramblers trailed by 13 as the Owls went on an 11-0 run before graduate guard Braden Norris sank both free throw attempts.
At halftime, the Owls led 43-30. FAU was shooting 52% from the field and 50% from behind the arc compared to the Ramblers’ 38% and 33%.
Goldin slammed his second dunk of the night for FAU’s first points of the second half. Weatherspoon and Boyd contributed their baskets to stretch the lead to 50-34.
Loyola went on an 11-0 run in three minutes as Mwamba hit his second three to bring the game within seven.
“We probably just took a deep breath, refocused on what’s really important and that’s being disruptive defensively, playing through our strengths offensively, and just getting a move in and taking advantage of what they were trying to do on the defensive end,” May said. “But there wasn’t anything that–I think it was more our guys just refocused, regrouped, and let’s get back after because at the end of the day, they’re going out and trusting the habits that they developed and playing in the flow.”
Goldin ended the Owls’ scoring drought, and Boyd scored a fastbreak layup after a Ramblers turnover. Weatherspoon went 1-2 at the line after a flagrant foul called on Mwamba.
FAU extended their lead to 19 by going on an 8-0 run with just under five minutes left. The Owls ran away with the game, closing it with a 13-point victory.
Goldin finished the night as the Owls’ leading scorer with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Boyd attributed 13 points, shooting a respective 60% from behind the arc.
The Owls will return to Boca Raton for their home opener against Eastern Michigan University (0-1) on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email her at [email protected] or @giannaalbertii on Instagram.
