On Saturday, the No. 20 Florida Atlantic Owls (18-4, 8-1 AAC) defeated the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane (12-9, 3-6 AAC) 100-72,  going undefeated during their two-game home stretch and extending their win streak to seven. 

In the first few minutes of the game, the Owls started the game flat with missed open shots and bad turnovers. It wouldn’t be till 9:18 in the first half that a poster-dunk by Brandon Weatherspoon gave FAU a lead and allowed them to find their groove.

This play sparked the start of an 11-0 run for the Owls. At one point during the run, Jalen Gaffney found himself at the line going 1-2 with an Owls offensive rebound. It was kicked out to Nick Boyd who sank a three giving FAU a seven-point lead. Less than a minute later, he hit his second three in a row. 

“We’re extremely pleased to play good sound basketball on both sides of the ball against a program. I thought in the first five minutes of the game we [might] have been too amped up to play,” said head coach Dusty May. “That’s probably a contributor to the turnovers, but we’re grateful for the people that come out and bring the juice like they did today.”

Johnell Davis led the team in scoring with 24 points, along with five rebounds, and two assists. Vlad Goldin contributed with 18 points, 10 of them coming via slam dunks.

“Every game is fun to play. We need to remember that that’s why we do it. That’s why we play this game and why [May] coaches this game. It’s fun,” said Goldin.

The University of Tulsa was charged with two flagrant one fouls in the second half against Goldin and Weatherspoon. Goldin was elbowed in the face and throat by a Tulsa player attempting to box out, and Weatherspoon was shoved to the ground and elbowed in the stomach on a similar play later on.  

“I thought our effort, [our] aggressiveness going after the offensive rebounds forced them to play a little bit out of frustration. If we weren’t crashing and playing physically as well then that probably wouldn’t happen,” said May. “I thought our guys played with a lot of purpose tonight and going forward that’s how we have to [play].”

FAU will start their two-game road stretch on Thursday at 9 p.m against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (14-7, 6-2 AAC). The game will air on ESPN 2.  

RECAP

The Golden Hurricane were first on the board with a three-ball from junior forward Jared Garcia. Goldin responded by throwing it down for the Owls on back-to-back offensive possessions.

At the 11:46 mark, Johnell Davis went on a 7-0 run for the Owls to give them a three point lead. Tulane junior forward Carlous Williams responded with a second chance layup to cut it to one. 

With just 9:23 left in the first half, the Owls trailed by one before Weatherspoon posterized a Tulsa player. Just 38 seconds later, Goldin hammered his third dunk of the game putting the Owls up three.

The University of Tulsa called for a timeout at 4:43 after Davis hit his third three of the night, extending FAU’s 19-1 run in the last 4:34. The Owls found their momentum as the team went up 17, their largest lead of the first half.

The Golden Hurricane attempted a comeback by going on a 7-0 run. Freshman forward Matt Reed’s two made free throws cut the Owls’ lead to 11. Tulsa found themselves slowly chipping away at FAU’s lead, coming within nine 

Boyd’s third three of the game put the Owls up 13 with just 40 seconds left before the first half expired. 

At halftime, the Owls were 48% from the field, converting 14 of their 29 shot attempts. Tulsa had a 30% field goal percentage, making 10 of their 33 shot attempts. 

FAU continued their intensity as Goldin opened the second half with a made layup before redshirt freshman Pj Haggerty answered for the Golden Hurricane. Haggerty fought to bring the Hurricane back into the game, but the Owls responded to each Tulsa made basket.

Tre Carroll got the crowd to their feet with a big-time basket, getting the and one just 4:40 into the second half. In just 15 minutes, he secured nine points and five rebounds, all without missing a field goal or free throw. 

“Tre is such a talented offensive player. He brought a lot to this team, his defense [has] continued to improve, rebounding, physicality. When you look at where Tre is now compared to where he was in November, he’s a much better basketball player. And it’s because his work ethic continues to improve,” said May.

The game went back and forth, but the Owls remained in control of the game. A stepback jumper made by Davis put FAU up 19 just as Goldin went down at 11:38. The play went under review, and a flagrant foul was called on Tulsa’s sophomore center Mohamed Keita, sending Goldin to the line. 

He made both before returning to the line on the next possession, sinking both. 

The crowd went wild as Davis stole the ball and slammed it down on the fast break. Boyd’s two made free throws had the Owls up 25 on a 10-0 run with 8:49 left.

With 5:57 left, a second flagrant foul was called on Tulsa after what appeared to be an intentional elbow thrown at Weatherspoon’s midsection on a closeout by Williams. Weatherspoon went to the line and went 2-2. 

FAU ran away the rest of the game after that. Jalen Gaffney sank a  three pointer as the shot clock went off, and 37 seconds later Bryan Greenlee drained a three after he got stuffed by the rim on an attempted dunk.

“[I thought he was going to throw it down]. Zane [Scott], our strength and conditioning coach does an unbelievable job, and I told [Greenlee] that he’s making him look bad… [He] has to do better,” May said jokingly in the post-game press. Davis and Goldin couldn’t help but laugh either.  

Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or @giannaalbertii on Instagram for information regarding this or other stories.