The AAC schedule is here and FAU tips off the second portion of their season with a home tilt against Memphis, a matchup that has developed into a bit of a rivalry over the past 2 years.
Memphis comes into this game ranked 21st in the nation and will be the second ranked opponent to walk into Eleanor R Baldwin Arena, 1st since Charleston in 1997.
1H first 4-
Things started off poorly for FAU, as within the first 3 minutes the Owls were 0 of 3 from the field with a turnover on offense, while on the other end they allowed 7 rebounds, 4 offensive and PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter combined for the first 9 points and with 17:23 to play John Jakus was forced into a timeout with FAU trailing 9-0.
Baba Miller was able to answer out of the timeout, however the tigers got a triple from Pj Haggerty and bucket from Colby Rogers to extend their lead to 14-2 heading into the U16 timeout with 15:50 to play.
U16 timeout-
Tre Carroll gave the Owls a bit of life out of the U16 timeout, scoring on a bucket near the rim, and although Tyrese Hunter responded with a triple, FAU got a pair of free throws from Leland Walker and a triple from Kaleb Glenn, cutting the deficit to 8, 17-9 with 14:25 to play. Memphis had answers early however, as they responded to Glenn with a PJ Carter Triple, however a Ken Evans triple with 12:23 to play cut the Tigers lead to 23-15 heading into the U12 with 11:59 to play. The Owls were shooting 38% from the field and were losing the rebound battle 12-4 heading into the U12 timeout and while their offense woke up, they had little to no answer for Memphis, as they started 62% from beyond the Arc and had answers for all of the early FAU runs.
U12 timeout-
Each side got into a bit of a foul battle out of the U12, as PJ Haggerty and Nick Jourdain went to the line for Memphis, while Ken Evans Jr got to the stripe for FAU, all 3 hitting both of their free throws. After Moussa Cisse was able to convert on a dunk off a turnover, the Owls strung together a 5-0 run, getting back to back baskets off turnovers, a Baba Miller jam and KyKy Tandy triple and all of a sudden the ‘Elly was rocking and the Owls were within 7, 29-22 heading into the U8 timeout with 7:24 to play.
U8 timeout-
The Owls had offensive energy that was able to bring the fans back into it, as Kaleb Glenn hit a jumper and Miller slammed home another show-stopping dunk, however after that the Tigers went on a 7-2 run, 4 from Haggerty and a triple from Rogers and heading into the U4 timeout with 3:39 to play, Memphis was maintaining a 38-28 lead.
U4 timeout-
Memphis continued to have early answers for FAU, as Baba converted another bucket down low to which Tyrese Hunter responded with a triple. Kaleb Glenn hit another bucket for FAU, while Cisse split a pair of free throws and heading into halftime, Memphis held a 42-32 lead over FAU.
HALFTIME: #FAU 42 #Memphis 32
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) January 3, 2025
The Owls start slow, and trail by 10 at the break. @FAUMBB struggles from 3PT at 3-of-16. But they swipe the rock 6 times and lead PIP 16-12. Baba miller has a team high 8 PTS off of 4-of-7 shooting to go with 4 grabs. 🦉🏀 pic.twitter.com/lLjrj2RClM
Halftime thoughts-
The Owls fought back from an abysmal start, as they trailed in rebounds 12-1 at one point, however by halftime it was nearly even 20-18 in favor of Memphis. Where FAU was lacking was beyond the arc, as the Tigers were shooting 7 of 13 from 3, while FAU was 3 of 16 and although the Owls found some offensive spark, their lack of defense was negating a lot of their runs.
2H first 4-
Both sides engaged in a back and forth battle to start the second half, as Pj Haggerty converted on an and-1 layup down low, while for FAU KyKy Tandy responded with a drive to the bucket. After Tyrese Hunter converted on a layup on the other end, Matas Vokietaitis went to work converting an and-1 bucket at the rim and another one on the ensuing possession and heading into the U16 timeout with 15:55 to play the lead remained at 10, 49-39 Tigers.
U12 2H timeout-
Matas was able to convert on the free throw out of the U12 to bring the lead back down to single digits for Memphis, however the Tigers went on a run following that. The owls had their chances, however 4 straight missed free throws led to a 7-0 Memphis run, all 3 baskets coming from different Tigers and all of a sudden things began to get away from FAU as the Tigers led 56-40 heading into the U12 timeout with 12:42 remaining.
U8 timeout second half-
Things continued to get worse for FAU, as out of the U12 timeout Dain Dainja scored 8 points in nearly 3 minutes, and heading into the U8 timeout with 7:18 to play Memphis held a 71-48 lead, their largest of the half. The owls started their second half 8 of 27 from the field and 1 of 9 from 3, while Memphis was above 50% from both the field and beyond the arc.
U4 timeout second half-
Kaleb Glenn came out of the U8 with a made triple, however Memphis responded as they did all game with an 8-0 run to jolt their lead to 79-51 with 4:59 to play. The Owls responded with 4 consecutive made free throws, 2 a piece from Walker and Carroll and heading into the U4 timeout with 3:51 to play Memphis was holding a 79-55 lead.
Final 4-
Memphis closed the game on a 12-5 run, getting buckets from 4 different Tigers and closing out a dominating 90-62 victory, finishing on a 9-0 run and shutting out the Owls over the final 2:49.
FINAL: #FAU 62 | #Memphis 90. The Owls (7-7, 0-1 #AAC) are cold from distance and drop their worst loss in three years (VCU 66-46). @FAUMBB will next travel to #ECU for a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Pirates. Tip-off is 1PM. #GoOwls 🦉 🏀 pic.twitter.com/TdlTJH04bk
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) January 3, 2025