FAU is back at home to kick off a 2 game home stand which will start with UTSA tonight at 7 PM. The Owls suffered an unfortunate loss at the hands of UNT in their last one and they will be looking to avenge that loss with a win on their home court over the Road Runners.
UTSA has had an up and down season, however they posses a 20 point per game scorer in Primo Spears and if he is cooking, the Road Runners are a team to watch out for. Stay tuned below for live updates as the game progresses.
1H First 4 minutes-
The Owls were aggressive early on getting buckets at the rim from Tre Carroll and Leland Walker, and on the other end they forced misses from UTSA on their first 2 possessions and on their 3rd the Owls forced a Road Runner turnover, which forced Austin Claunch into an early timeout with 18:23 to play and FAU leading 4-0.
The Road Runners eventually got off the snide, but not before the Owls forced 2 more turnovers, converting on both and also getting active from beyond the arc. KyKy Tandy hit a pair of triples for FAU as a part of an 8-0 run from him alone and although UTSA was matching, hitting 3 triples of their own, FAU held a 12-11 lead heading into the U16 timeout with 14:32 to play. Although the Owls forced 4 steals, UTSA was a top 50 3 point shooting team in the country and fought back into it early to create the beginnings of a back and forth shootout.
U12 timeout-
Out of the U16 timeout, the Owls got Matas Vokietaitis to the line, a place where he has excelled over the past 2 games and he converted both free throws to give FAU a 14-11 lead with 14:11 to play. That turned into a mini 6-2 run for FAU, as Nico Moretti hit a lay in down low and Kaleb Glenn also converted in the paint and all of a sudden FAU was leading 18-13 with 12:16 to play. The Road Runners weren’t letting that get any larger, as Damari Monsanto hit his 3rd triple in the first 8 minutes to make it 18-16 which was out score heading into the U12 timeout with 11:24 to play.
U8 timeout-
UTSA evened things at 18 out of the U12 timeout, as Marcus Millender attacked the basket and scored, however the Owls had an answer in the form of a Matas Vokietaitis and-1 basket, which gave them a 21-18 lead with 10:19 to play. That lead held up for FAU over the next few minutes, as FAU got 4 second chance points from Baba Miller and Kaleb Glenn and a fast break bucket from Ken Evans and heading into the U8 timeout with 7:43 to play FAU was holding a 27-20 lead. Although UTSA was 50% from beyond the arc early, FAU had 12 offensive rebounds and also forced 8 UTSA turnovers and their intensity helped them out to an early lead.
U4 timeout-
The Road Runners made a push to close the gap out of the U8 timeout, as they went on an 8-2, getting Monsanto’s 4th triple of the half to bring them within 1, 29-28 with 6:11 to play. FAU wasn’t ready to let their early lead go by the wayside, as they responded with an 8-0 run, getting triples from Miller and Tandy along with a dunk from Glenn to force Austin Claunch into his second 1st half timeout with the Owls holding a 37-28 lead with 4:43 to play. UTSA was able to get a bucket out of the timeout, cutting the deficit back to 7 and heading into the U4 timeout with 3:55 to play FAU was leading 37-30.
Final 4 minutes-
The Owls added to their lead over the final 4 minutes, getting an and-1 from Leland Walker and buckets down low from Miller, Vokietaitis and Evans Jr, while holding UTSA to just 2 points and heading into halftime the Owls were holding a 47-32 lead over the Road Runners.
Halftime Thoughts:
The Owls had a very strong first half, winning the rebound battle in dominating fashion 28-9, also forcing 8 UTSA turnovers and although the Road Runners were above 40% from the field and beyond the arc, FAU was winning this game through brute force. The Owls outscored UTSA 20-12 in the paint and 19-3 in bench points.
2H first 4-
FAU came out of the gates in the second half with a major burst of energy, as Tre Carroll scored 4 straight for the Owls to start things off with a bang and extend the Owls lead to 51-35 with 18:56 to play. After that, Kyky Tandy got red hot for FAU, hitting 3 triples, his final one giving the Owls a 62-38 lead with 16:04 to play, capping off a 9-0 run. Primo Spears was able to stop the bleeding with a triple for UTSA, however the Owls were still firmly in control, leading 62-41 with 15:46 to play heading into the U16 timeout.
2H U12 timeout-
The Owls continued to run away out of the U16 timeout, as Kaleb Glenn and Baba Miller each threw one down, while Tandy hit his 7th triple of the half which forced UTSA into a timeout, trailing 69-49 with 13:10 to play. The timeout didn’t change much for UTSA, as FAU went on a 9-0 run out of the timeout, getting 3 consecutive triples and heading into the U12 timeout, the Owls were maintaining a 78-49 lead with 10:52 to play.
U8 timeout-
UTSA wasn’t ready to lay down just yet, coming out of the U12 timeout with a 4-0 run, however Ken Evans JR snapped that with his first triple of the game which gave the Owls an 81-53 lead with 9:45 to play. The Road Runners responded with an 8-0 run, getting 2 more triples from Monsanto and his second, forced Jakus into a timeout with FAU leading 81-61 with 8:00 to play. The Road Runners added 2 more on a Millender pair of free throws, while Leland Walker snapped the streak for FAU by splitting a pair of free throws and heading into the U8 timeout, FAU was leading 83-62 with 6:26 to go.
U4 timeout-
The Owls offense woke back up out of the U8 timeout, as Ken Evans Jr hit a triple, while Matas Vokietaitis converted on a bucket down low and although UTSA got buckets from 3 different Road Runners, the Owls held a 87-67 lead heading into the U4 timeout with 3:33 to play.
Final 4-
Not much changed over the final few minutes, as Vokietaitis added one more bucket, while Evans Jr added 2 free throws and Moretti cashed in on a triple, sealing the deal on a 94-74 victory for FAU.