The epitome of brutality struck once again for FAU, as the Owls lost to FGCU 80-78 on a buzzer-beating shot. FAU led by 12 at halftime, however they went ice cold from the field in the second half, while FGCU was red-hot and although the Owls fought back at the end, for the second time this season they ended on the bad side of a buzzer beater.
The first half looked like a bounce back performance for FAU, as the Owls led 52-40 at the break, while converting 12 of 22 triples and winning the rebound battle, 2 things that plagued them in previous losses. Unfortunately for FAU, that hot start from beyond the arc did not remain throughout, as in the second half the Owls shot 29% from the field and 27% from 3, while FGCU flourished offensively.
For FAU Coach John Jakus its a heartbreaking loss, as the Owls were heavy favorites on their home court, a place where he didn’t envision losing many games this season. Although this one may sting for a bit, Jakus and his crew will need to bounce back by Wednesday and that will start with better defense on the perimeter.
“With all my heart, I love being the coach at FAU, and losing in the Elly is tough one for me, and that’s not our goal, and we’re disappointed. We’ll hopefully learn from it and come back and get a win on Wednesday. There are moments of brilliant basketball on offense, but we certainly didn’t guard the three point line tonight. We’ll have to respond to get better at that,” Jakus said.
In the Owls losses to Drake and Seton Hall they struggled from beyond the arc, shooting under 40% from 3 in both matchups and it left them lacking the offense they needed. Following the loss to Seton Hall, Jakus mentioned he believed his team would shoot great being back at home and well rested, and in the first half of this one they did, however in the second half their lack of shooting played a part in a ferocious FGCU comeback.
The style of offense FAU runs means that their ability to shoot consistently from beyond the arc is paramount to their success and now with 3 straight games of inconsistent shooting the Owls are staring down the barrel of a 3 game losing streak. Despite this, Jakus isn’t concerned with the teams 3 point shooting, noting that even with the second half struggles the Owls still converted at a 43% rate and that they failed to convert on open looks in the second half.
“We’ll go back and look at the film I got to watch. I’m pretty sure we miss uncontested shots, like a lot of those were pretty wide open. They were the same shots my way guess. My guess is, of the 40 threes, at least 30 plus were open. So when you miss open shots, that happens. I don’t think us shooting 43% making 17 threes was the issue tonight. I’ve never seen a box score at the college level, where someone makes 17 and loses. So I would say that’s probably not as high on my list,” Jakus said.
FGCU shot nearly 20% better than their season average of 33% from beyond the arc, converting at a 53% rate and while the Owls struggled in the second half, the Eagles found the most success they had all season offensively. FAU looked to have found the answer to their defensive issues after struggles against UCF and Charleston, however in this one they returned as FGCU expanded their offense in ways they haven’t all season.
Even in the first half where FAU dominated for the most part, FGCU still shot 48% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc, finding open looks through the Owls defense. FGCU expanded their offense tonight, according to Jakus and he credits them for finding success while doing so.
“That’s another thing I got to take a look at, because I would guess that we contested more shots than the numbers show. And then the other thing is they hit shots five, six feet behind the three point line. Those are shots they don’t even take normally, if you go back through the film. So they clearly had a plan, and said, We’re going to rip it from three tonight, and if it goes, it goes, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But to me, it was extremely different than watching the film of their last couple games. So they got caught. Give credit to them. 52% from three on the road is a good thing,” Jakus said.
The Owls were led in this one by Baba Miller, who had his best game in an Owls uniform, chipping in 25 points on 9 of 11 shooting, 5 of 6 from 3, also adding 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Behind Miller, KyKy Tandy added 15 points, all triples on 5 of 12 shooting, while Kaleb Glenn added 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.
As Jakus mentioned, the offense did indeed show flashes of brilliance at times and Baba Miller was a big part of that, as he showcased exactly why teams considered him an NBA prospect this offseason. The offense is at its best when ball movement creates open looks from 3 and tonight Miller was a beneficiary of that and he believes his success tonight was just an outcome of the offense itself.
“I Feel like the ability of our guards to attack the paint and being a threat just gave us the chance to be wide open for three point shots, in my case, and then just moving without the ball and trying to make plays also affected the game,” Miller said.
That is now 3 straight losses for the Owls and they will need to bounce back quickly as they head to FIU for a road battle with the Panthers in a game that has turned into one of great importance as FAU desperately needs a win. Heading into that matchup the Owls have to make the necessary adjustments on both sides of the ball to find consistency as they have flashed dominance this season, but at times they have been unable to put it altogether.
Jakus believes his team has showed what they are capable of at various points this season and they have been adjusting off the court following each game, however heading into this road game he looks to once again find consistency.
“Well, I thought that we made some beautiful adjustments with the 52 points in the first half. And then I think there’s moments where we break away from what works for us, and so the consistency of what they’ve been taught and explained, I think we just got to get that above 30 minutes. It can’t be 20 can’t be 24 it’s got to get above 30 minutes on that offensive end, and then that’ll help us. But even in the Charleston game, where we did that for longer periods of time, the breakdowns were still on the defensive end. So I thought we fixed a lot of the defense in the last two games. Seton Hall and, you know, Drake, our defensive field goal percentage was much, much better. But clearly, moving forward, we’re gonna have to play offense and defense on the same day,” Jakus said.
Previous in game recap:
U16 timeout-
FGCU came out of the U16 with a quick 4-0 run, however after that they went cold for nearly 3 minutes, while the Owls capitalized on the other end. FAU sparked a 7-0 run in that time, getting buckets from Nico Moretti and Leland Walker on drives to the hoop and a Kaleb Glenn triple off 3 offensive rebounds gave the Owls a 21-18 lead heading into the U12 timeout with 11:02 to play.
U12 timeout-
Out of the U12 timeout each side was trading buckets, however that changed quickly as the Owls looked to find their stroke from behind the Arc. The Owls went on a 9-2 run, getting 3 triples from Miller, Moretti and Tandy, and Tandy’s gave the Owls their largest lead of the day 35-27 heading into the U8 timeout with 7:20 to play.
U8 timeout-
FAU extended their lead to double digits, 38-27 out of the U8 timeout off a Baba Miller triple and they looked to takeover this game early. FGCU responded with a quick 7-0 run to bring it back within 4, but on their home court FAU wasn’t slipping away early. The Owls responded with a quick 5-0 run, getting a triple from Ken Evans Jr. and a drive to the rim from Kaleb Glenn, the latter which put FAU ahead 43-34 heading into the U4 timeout with 3:18 to play.
U4 timeout-
The Owls finished in a strong way, connecting on 3 straight 3 pointers from Miller, Tandy, and Evans Jr over the final 3 minutes, the latter which gave the Owls a 52-40 lead heading into halftime.
2H First 4-
FGCU came out of the gates strong, going on a 7-0 run within the first 2 minutes and that energy brought them back into the game. That run turned into a 12-4 run overall, and FGCU trailed by only 4, 56-52 heading into the U16 timeout. FAU was 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 3 from beyond the Arc to start the half and it allowed FGCU back into the game.
U12 timeout-
Kaleb Glenn hit a triple out of the U16 timeout to jolt the lead back to 7, 59-52 with 14:22 to play, however after that the Owls went ice cold. FGCU sparked a 7-0 run over the next 2:24 and a Michael Duax layup tied the game at 59 all heading into the U12 timeout with 12:22 to play.
U8 timeout-
Things began to go from bad to worse for the owls, as FGCU came out of the U12 with a 7-0 run and all of a sudden they had major control over this game, leading 66-59 with 9:20 to go. Just a few minutes later the Eagles responded again, getting another 7-0 run to take a 73-64 lead into the U8 timeout with 6:21 to go.
Final 6 minutes-
FGCU was maintaining a 9 point lead, 75-66 heading into the U4 timeout with 4:23 to play, however the Owls weren’t ready to tap out yet. Kaleb Glenn split a pair of free throws and Kyky Tandy hit a triple to bring it within 5 with 3:27 to play. Baba Miller went on a 5-0 run after the Eagles converted a triple to make it a one score game, 78-75 with 50 seconds remaining. After Rahmir Barno missed the front end of a one and one on the ensuing possession, Tandy marched down the court and converted a triple to tie the game at 78 all with 30 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Owls, Barno avenged his missed free throw, getting down to the paint and hitting a turn around jumper at the horn to give FGCU an 80-78 victory.