FAU heads to ECU for only their second road game in over a month and they are looking to snap a 2 game losing streak following back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Memphis. ECU has struggled equally recently, last winning on December 17th over FIU after a 7-1 start to the season.
Stay tuned for live updates as the game progresses as both teams make impactful lineup changes for the first time this season with Tre Carroll in the starting lineup for FAU over Matas Vokietaitis and RJ Felton off the bench off the bench for ECU.
1 H First 4 minutes-
The Owls came out of the gates with great energy on both ends of the court, as they made 4 of their first 6 attempts from the field, while limiting ECU to 1 of their first 5 and they were sending out a diverse offense. Baba Miller had a ferocious dunk down low, while Tre Carroll and Leland walker each had strong takes to the rim, while Ken Evans hit the Owls lone triple attempt from the corner to give the Owls a 10-2 lead heading into the U16 timeout with 15:55 to play in the first half.
U12 timeout-
The Owls came out of the U16 timeout with a burst of energy, forcing a pair of ECU turnovers and sparking a 5-0 run on 2 bucket from Leland Walker, to give him 7 early points and force ECU into an early timeout, trailing 15-2 with 14:53 to play in the first half. They responded out of that timeout, getting out in transition and attacking the basket, going on a 9-2 run with the only bucket for FAU coming from Vokietaitis down low and John Jakus was forced into a timeout with 12:14 to play which served as the U12 timeout.
U8 timeout-
The Owls struggled last game from beyond the arc but today they were feeling it early as out of the U12, Ken Evans Jr hit his second triple of the day, getting a second chance on an offensive rebound from Matas which extended the Owls lead to 20-11 with 11:45 to play and KyKy Tandy made triples on back to back possessions which extended the Owls lead to 26-13 with 9:51 to play. After the teams traded a few buckets down low, Baba Miller hit another 3 off of a dribble move to give the Owls a 31-18 lead, their largest with 7:54 to play. ECU responded with 2 buckets down low and heading into the U8 with 6:32 to play FAU led 31-22.
U4 timeout-
ECU was hanging around with a solid effort out of the U8 timeout, hitting their first triple of the day while continuing to really attack the offensive glass, holding an 11-3 lead over FAU early on in this game. The Pirates went on a 7-4 run during the few minutes between the U8 and U4 timeout, however 2 buckets from Tre Carroll kept the owls maintaining a 35-29 lead heading into the U4 timeout with 3:26 to play.
Final 4-
The pirates continued to attack the glass heavily extending their offensive rebound advantage to 14-3, however a triple from Kaleb Glenn and an alley-oop conversion from Vokietaitis kept the Owls in the lead heading into half, as the latter gave them a 40-36 at the break.
Halftime thoughts-
FAU was getting a much needed bounce back performance offensively, finishing the half 50% from the field and 63% from beyond the arc, while 5 different players accounted for at least 5 points, signaling a return of the diverse offensive attack that helped the offense find success early in the season. The issue early on was the rebounding effort, as FAU trails 14-3 on the offensive glass at the break and if ECU continues to get second chances, it may spoil the Owls bounce-back performance offensively.
First 4 2H-
The back and forth battle that developed late in the 1st half continued into the early 2nd, as ECU was continuing to jump in the passing lanes as they forced 2 FAU turnovers, also grabbing 2 offensive rebounds in the first 4 minutes. The Owls were finding success through their bigs however, getting 8 points from Baba and Carroll and heading into the U16 timeout with 15:42 to play FAU held a 48-46 lead.
U12 timeout-
ECU continued to hurt FAU on the offensive glass, getting second chance buckets on 4 out of 6 possessions, while also forcing a pair of Owls turnovers. Heading into the U12 timeout, the Owls offense went quiet, while ECU continued to play aggressive, leading the offensive rebound battle 20-3 and leading FAU 59-54 into the U12 with 10:21 to play.
U8 timeout-
FAU got a 6-0 run out of the U12 timeout, as Matas converted 1 out of 2 free throws, while Baba converted a bucket down low and Leland converted from beyond the arc to give FAU a 60-59 lead. CJ Walker forced the Owls 8th turnover of the half on the ensuing possession, going coast to coast to regain the lead for ECU and forcing FAU into a timeout with 8:25 to play. Tre Carroll hit another clutch bucket for FAU and gave the Owls a 62-61 lead heading into the U8 timeout with 7:40 to play.
U4 timeout-
Kaleb Glenn came out of the U8 with an alley-oop conversion which gave the Owls a bit of momentum, as Ken Evans Jr also converted an and 1 to give the Owls a 67-63 lead with 5:59 to play. The Owls had momentum, however ECU wasn’t going away as Yann Ferrell and Jordan Riley combined for a 5-0 run to regain a 68-67 lead with 4:45 to play. The Owls had answers however, as they responded with a 5-0 run of their own with Ken Evans Jr converting from 3 and Leland Walker hitting a pull-up jumper to regain a 72-68 lead for FAU heading into the U4 timeout with 2:36 to play.
Final 4-
ECU came out of the break with a pair of CJ Walker free throws bringing it back to a one possession game, however Nico Moretti responded with an and-1 to jolt the Owls lead back to 5. After RJ Felton responded on the ensuing possession with a bucket of the rim, Ken Evans Jr hit the Owls biggest shot of the day on the ensuing possession, extending the Owls lead to 78-72 with 56 seconds to go.
Things got crazy over the final 56 seconds, as ECU went on a 4-0 run, as each of CJ Walker and Jayshane Woodard split a pair of free throws, while Woodard also converted on a layup. On the back-half of the Woodard free throw Chaos ensued, as Baba Miller threw it away and gave ECU an extra final possession in which they got 3 shots, missing them all and sealing a 78-76 win for FAU.