Senior day is upon us, as the Owls close out the regular season with a pivotal matchup against East Carolina with both squads looking to pick up a must needed victory. The Owls head into this game on a one game skid, dropping their last game to UAB, while ECU is on a 3 game skid and have rejuvenated themselves since they lost to FAU in early January.
Following the loss to UAB, the Owls have opted to make more starting lineup changes, inserting Nico Morettti and re-adding Kyky to the starting lineup in exchange for Leland Walker and Kaleb Glenn. We shall see if the adjustments lead to a victory that clinches the 5th seed, or if they play no part and ECU clinches a 4 seed.
1H first 4-
Early on in this one, not much offense was going on as each side had a scoring drought that lasted over 4 minutes and headed into the U16 timeout it was a 5-5 ball game, with ECU shooting 25% from the field and FAU shooting 18%. The Owls had good effort early on, leading the rebound battle 10-6 with 5 offensive rebounds, however they were 1 of 6 on layups and also committed 3 turnovers, which let ECU establish the pace of play early on.
1H U12 timeout-
Not much changed in between the U16 and U12 timeout, as both sides still struggled from the field, with ECU 4 of 12 and FAU 3 of 14, and early on a physical battle was developing, with both sides struggling to convert at the rim. The Owls were looking to feed Vokietaitis down low, however ECU countered with their 7-footer in Reid Cason, who gave Matas some trouble down-low, forcing him to an 0 of 3 start from the field and heading into the U12 timeout with 11:54 to play the game was even at 9 a piece.
1H U8 timeout-
The Owls began to create some separation out of the U8 timeout, the owls went on a 9-2 run, getting 4 from Vokietaitis who began to assert his dominance down-low and the run forced ECU into a timeout trailing 18-11 with 9:30 to play. ECU turned it over immediately out of the timeout and the Owls got back to back triples from KyKy Tandy and heading into the U8 timeout with 7:20 to play the Owls were holding a 24-14 lead, their largest of the day, also doubling up ECU on the glass 18-9 and raising their shooting percentages from 40%from the field and 50% from 3.
1H U4 timeout-
The Owls kept their foot on the gas out of the U8 timeout, as they went on a 9-0 run, with back to back triples from Baba Miller and Nico Moretti and that forced ECU into another timeout, trailing 33-14 with 4:50 to play. Although ECU responded with buckets from Hayes and Felton, the Owls got 2 more triples from Vanterpool and Moretti and heading into the U4 timeout with 2:25 to play, FAU was holding a 39-19 lead with 2:25 to play.
Final 2-
The Owls finished strong, getting Kyky Tandy to the line where he hit both free throws and heading into halftime the Owls were holding a 41-23 lead over ECU.
Halftime thoughts: After a slow start, the Owls offense exploded with a 21-5 run in between the U8 and U4 timeouts, finishing the half shooting 40% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, also assisting on 9 out of 12 made field goals and dominating ECU on the glass 25-14. The Owls were led by Kyky Tandy who finished with 11 points and 3 triples during the first half, while 5 owls finished with 5 or more points in the first half. ECU on the other hand was struggling, 31% from the field and 22% from 3, while also turning it over 5 times which FAU turned into 8 points.
2H first 4-
The Owls came out of the gates in the second half with great energy, going on a 10-2 run throughout the first 3 and a half minutes, extending their lead to 51-25 with 16:31 to play. ECU was able to stop the bleeding with a bucket, however the Owls got an and 1 from Kaleb Glenn and heading into the U16 timeout the Owls were rolling in the second half above 50% from the field and from 3, while ECU was 0 of 7 from the field and with 15:52 to play the Owls were leading 54-27.
2H U12 timeout-
ECU went on a quick 6-2 run out of the U16 timeout, however the Owls responded with 4 in a row from Tre Carroll and a bucket from Baba Miller to keep them with a 63-37 lead with 13:04 to play. Jordan Riley scored 4 in a row for ECU, which forced Jakus into a timeout as the lead was nearing 30, but the run brought it back closer to 20. The timeout worked, as FAU didn’t allow anymore ECU points, headed into the U12 timeout leading 63-41 with 11:56 to play.
2H U8 timeout-
FAU continued to expand their lead, going on a 10-3 run in between the U12 and U8, attacking the rim and converting multiple alley-oop attempts with Matas, Baba and Tre all cashing in on their lobs. Heading into the U8 timeout with 7:56 to play the Owls were holding a 73-44 lead, getting nearly anything they wanted offensively.