The No. 22 Florida Atlantic Owls (15-4, 5-1 AAC) defeated the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners (7-11, 1-5 AAC), 112-103, in an overtime battle. 

With the win, FAU is now tied for first in the American Athletic Conference and extends their win streak to four. 

UTSA quickly marked their home territory after going up 9-0 in the first 2:26 and maintained the lead until the start of the second half. 

“UTSA played really well. They had a great game plan, they held us on our heels for about 35 minutes out of the 40 minutes… That was a heck of a college basketball game, and fortunately we came out on the right side of the win,” said head coach Dusty May.

Brandon Weatherspoon and Alijah Martin led the comeback with three’s after combining for ten total in the game. Weatherspoon ended the game 21 points and six rebounds. Martin put up 26 points and five rebounds. 

“[Weatherspoon] held us in. I thought he had great energy. We were struggling in the first half and he made some big spots to settle us down,” said May. “I thought he made some big time rebounds. Overall his intensity and tenaciousness was extremely important for us tonight.” 

The Owls got their first lead of the game during the first 3 minutes of the second half, after Martin drained a three, 54-53. For the next 17 minutes the game continued to go back and forth between the two teams. 

Johnell Davis continued to show his offensive strength by leading the team with 34 points, marking his third highest game scoring game this season. He made three crucial free throws in the final 14 seconds of the game to allow FAU to go into OT. 

“I just tried to stay calm and not worry about anything,” said Davis. “Just needed to take a deep breath and find that spot that I usually shoot at the free throw line and all three of them happened to go in.”

FAU set the pace during OT with Weatherspoon making a quick two-point jumper. Martin’s back-to-back scoring allowed them to go up by five and they continued to extend the lead for a final score of 112-103. 

Florida Atlantic will continue their travels in Texas on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. against the Rice University Owls (7-11, 1-4 AAC) in Houston, Texas. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. 

Recap

UTSA won the tipoff and quickly went down the court to drain a three. They made another two to put them up 9-0 and went 5-6 from the field in the first four minutes. 

Martin stopped their run with a three of his own. But the Owls ran into foul trouble early on by picking up four in six minutes. 

The Roadrunners continued to sprint to the three-point line and take a lead of 16, 36-20. 

“Those were obviously defensive lapses… We switched up our ball screen coverages. But you’re not tricking [UTSA head] coach Henson and those guys. They’re going to have an answer for your coverage and we just tried to keep them off balance,” said May.

Davis chipped away UTSA’s lead by scoring eight points in a row, 30-38 with 7:05 left in the first half. The Owls began to pick up their pace of play by hitting multiple three’s and going on a 12-2 run. 

In Giancarlo Rosado’s absence, Tre Carroll stepped up on both sides of the court. Carroll had five points, three rebounds and two steals. He scored three points before going into halftime to keep the Owls within five. 

At halftime, UTSA was up 53-49. They were shooting 64.3% beyond the arc and 56.7% from the field. FAU was shooting 56.3% from the field and 55.6% beyond the arc. 

After the break, the Owls came out strong. Davis made an easy layup off a turnover and Martin’s three gave them their first lead of the game, 54-53. 

The foul trouble continued for FAU as UTSA was in the single bonus five minutes into the second half. 

“I think we got a few reach-ins but we got a lot more disciplined. We weren’t fouling from the basket as much,” said May.

UTSA began to extend their lead back to seven but were stopped by Weatherspoon making a wide open three. Nicholas Boyd followed up with another three to get them within one, 63-64. 

Boyd went down to score a three-point jumper and followed up with a layup to give FAU their second lead of the game. But the Roadrunners didn’t let up and continued to hit shot after shot, giving them a 91-88 lead with 23 seconds left. 

Davis was fouled at the three-point line and secured all three shots to send the game to OT, 91-91. 

The Owls quickly took the lead with Spoon making a two-point jumper. Martin stole the ball and drove down the court for a one-on-one layup and drew a foul, 99-96. 

Florida Atlantic continued to extend their lead by going on a 11-4 streak. A wide open dunk by Weatherspoon secured the 112-103 win for the Owls. 

Megan Bruinsma is a staff writer for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma for more information regarding this or other stories.