The battle of south Florida is upon us, as USF is in town for a showdown with FAU, the first matchup between the two schools since USF defeated them in Tampa a season ago.
Stay tuned below for live updates as the game progresses.
1H first 4-
FAU was able to feed off the energy from the crowd early on, as on the first possession of the game which Tre Carroll was fouled on, ultimately converting both free throws to go up 2-0. That continued throughout the first 4 minutes, as Leland Walker and Ken Evans both hit triples, Baba Miller slammed one home and Kyky Tandy scored off an offensive rebound from Carroll. Heading into the U16 timeout, FAU was holding a 12-8 lead and 5-1 advantage on the glass with 15:46 to play.
U12 timeout-
Things started slowly out of the U16 timeout, as both sides combined for 4 points in over 2 minutes, however things began to heat back up. USF was finding success downlow, as Reynolds chipped in 4 points in less than a minute, however FAU was getting scoring in a variety of ways. 2 trips to the line for Matas, 5 straight points for Moretti and a pair of floaters for Carroll later and the Owls were holding a 27-20 lead with 9:30 to play heading into the U12 timeout.
U8 timeout-
Not much changed in the minute and a half in between the U8 and U12, as Matas converted a pair of free throws and USF converted a dunk down low and heading into the U8 timeout with 7:52 to play FAU was holding a 29-22 lead. Early on FAU was doing all the little things, assisting on 6 out of 9 made baskets and they were doubling up USF in the rebound column, leading 14-7.
U4 timeout-
The Owls got a bucket from Baba Miller right out of the U8 timeout, however on the next few possesions they were bit by the turnover bug, which USF converted into 3 points at the line from Reynolds, and after a bucket from CJ Brown down low USF was within 4, 31-27, with 5:49 to play. FAU responded with a 6-2 run, getting buckets from Carroll, Moretti and Miller, and heading into the U4 timeout, FAU was leading 37-29 with 3:46 to play.
Final 4-
The Owls were able to build on their lead over the final few minutes, first getting 2 physical buckets down low from Kaleb Glenn and then another bucket from Matas down low and all of a sudden, FAU was leading 43-30 with 1:21 to play. Both sides traded buckets down the stretch, with Tandy and Knox trading triples and heading into half, the Owls were holding a 46-35 lead.
2H first 4-
It was all Owls to start the second half, as FAU started things out with a 7-0 run, getting points from 3 different Owls and all of a sudden, FAU was leading 53-35 with 17:26 to play. USF was able to respond slightly, getting a 5-2 spurt and Ben Fletcher called a timeout trailing 55-40, hoping to stop the bleeding with 16:15 to play. Matas Vokietaitis wasn’t letting that affect him however, as he came out of the timeout and scored down low instantly and heading into the U16 with 15:45 to play FAU was leading 57-40.
U12 timeout-
Both sides were physical out of the U16 timeout, getting to the line 2 straight times each through the first minute out of the time and with 14:29 to play FAU was leading 60-45. Nico Moretti had his second 5-0 run of the game, giving the Owls a 65-45 lead with 13:29 to play, however after that things dried up for FAU. USF went on a 11-0 run over the next minute and a half, getting 6 from Jayden Reid and heading into the U12 this game was as close as it was since the first half, with FAU leading 65-56 with 11:50 to play.
U8 timeout-
Tre Carroll snapped the 11-0 run with a floater down low to boost the Owls lead back to double figures, 67-56 with 11:33 to play. That was the beginning of a 9-2 run, as Kaleb Glenn scored down low after getting his own rebound , also hitting a triple and Carroll added 2 more free throws and with 9:36 to play, FAU was leading 74-58. After a triple from KyKy Tandy, the owls lead was 77-58 heading into the U8 timeout with 7:58 to play. Through the first 12 minutes of the half, FAU was holding the Bulls to under 30% from the field and although USF was leading the rebound battle, the Owls had 8 points on 5 USF turnovers and were finding ways to remain in control of the game.
U4 timeout-
Both sides traded buckets out of the U8 timeout, which didn’t help USF cut into their massive deficit and after FAU got back to back triples from Moretti and Ken Evans Jr, the Owls lead was extended to 86-69 heading into the U4 timeout with 3:54 to play.
Final 4-
FAU got a quick 6-0 run out of the U4 timeout, getting 3 free throws from Baba Miller and another triple from Ken Evans Jr and their lead was jolted to 92-69 with 2:08 to play. USF got back in the score column, however it was just window dressing, as Matas Vokietaitis slammed one home with 32 seconds to seal the Owls 94-72 victory.