After the loss to FGCU something John Jakus made clear is he did not want to lose at home and Tuesday evening against Jacksonville the Owls bounced back in a big way. FAU battled through an up and down 1st half, going into halftime with a 6 point lead, however they dominated the second half, outsourcing Jacksonville 48-32 and going on to win 85-63.
It marks back to back games where the Owls found their stride on both ends of the court in the second half, limiting Jacksonville to under 40% from 3, and while FAU converted on 40% of 3s on the other end, what really sealed their deal was their domination in the paint on both ends. FAU had a significant size advantage on Jacksonville and early on their 3s were not falling and while they fell at a better rate in the second half, FAU used their size to dominate the glass and attack the basket.
One thing that really stood out was the Owls high flying ability in this one, as they consistently attempted lob plays or alley-oops and Baba Miller and Kaleb Glenn each were on the receiving end of one, setting Eleanor R Baldwin arena into a frenzy. Jakus said the Owls ability to get out and run to attempt those flashy types of plays was critical in their success tonight and he was happy his team was able to have fun in this one tonight.
“ I think the guys did that on their own. I’m just happy that we were able to even be in that situation, because we had enough stops where we could actually get the kill shot, we could look for the lob dunks, and I think there’s a lot more fun in us if we keep playing defense. But we know that we’re going to either throw it up or we’re going to hit the corner three, and today, we just had a chance to throw it up a couple times,” Jakus said.
The one thing that continues to plague FAU is allowing 3 pointers defensively and early on tonight it seemed that was going to be the case again, as Jacksonville converted on 9 of 20 3 pointers in the first half and 12 of their first 13 made field goals came from beyond the arc. It wasn’t, however, as FAU limited them to only 3 of 9 in the second half and continued their solid defense down low and without their 1st half success from beyond the arc, the Dolphins were severely limited in the second half.
Although the Owls were hurt by the long ball in the 1st half, they ultimately figured out their struggles in the second half and alongside their solid perimeter defense they also held Jacksonville’s leading scorer Robert McCray, someone who attacks the paint frequently, to just 8 points on 2 of 11 shooting with 7 turnovers. It wasn’t perfect, however it got the job done and Jakus knows there is still work to be done defensively, but he is proud of the adjustments made in the second half.
“Obviously protecting the paint against them. Keeping McRae out of the pain is a big thing. The three guys off the bench, we knew they could shoot, and to give them Seven of Nine in the first half was a huge scouting mistake. The guys knew that ahead of time, but that’s on us as coaches. We’ll continue to explain to them what a great shooter looks like, and then at halftime to come out and, you know, hold them to three threes. I thought that was as much the margin as the rebounding and turnovers,” Jakus said.
The Owls were led by Tre Carroll and Matas Vokietaitis who finished with 17 a piece and whether the Owls went big or small, they were aggressive and dominated down low, winning the paint battle 42-10. Kaleb Glenn was a big part of that aggressiveness as well, coming off the bench with 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Baba Miller chipped in 10 points 11 rebound and 4 blocks, capping off a dominant night for the Owls big men.
Leland Walker also finished in double figures, the 5th and final double figure scorer for FAU, notching 13 points and 4 assists, converting on multiple tough drives to the rim. It was another diverse scoring night for FAU as the Owls finished with 42 points off the bench and for Jakus he is happy getting scoring from anyone, but he acknowledges the production off of the bench has been consistent as of late.
“I think that’s a scoring punch (Tre and Kaleb off the bench). You know? I think there’s times where Nico provides a certain punch and even Dev, but certainly scoring wise, the last couple games, they’ve given it to us. Kaleb’s given it to us pretty consistently, our leading score. So I don’t think we’re surprised by that. And then Tre the last couple of weeks, I think we’re constantly trying to find the balance of when we go small with Tre, when we stay big with Matas. The thing that really pleased me is maybe not the Kaleb and Tre at the same time, but the Matas and Tre at the same time, because I think some of our upside is when we can figure out those two at the five and what’s the best balance,” Jakus said.
The star of the show at times tonight for FAU was Matas Vokietaitis, who dominated the paint, finishing 7 of 8 from the field and tying his season high with 17 points. In his first season in the United States, Vokietaitis has flashed immense amounts of potential and tonight was a display of his ability to expose undersized defenders.
Earlier in the year, something that plagued him was foul trouble, as he was forced to sit early in games to try to prevent him from collecting too many early fouls, but as of the past few games that issue has gone by the wayside. Jakus has trusted his developmental process and although there has been a few bumps in the road, that is to be expected for a first time college student and he is proud of the progress he has made so far.
“I think we’re constantly doing our very best. I mean, he’s in America for the first time. He’s speaking English for the first time. He’s being coached in English for the first time. All his ball screen coverages are being called by him for the first time, and he’s trying to talk to refs, and I’m not sure either side knows what’s really being stated. So there’s this tipping point where there’s some frustration, but we’ve got to move past the frustration of positivity. And I thought he did that for himself tonight. I don’t know if you remember what it’s like to be 19 and go to college your first semester. It’s hard on kids to do that in another country while the world is watching you play, and to have two games where you just can’t stay on the floor. I thought tonight was so special. I’m incredibly proud of him. And then just in general, I want to shout out coach Jordan Fee and coach Isaiah Austin. Their work with him every morning. They watch film with him all the time, and where other people maybe would have given up on him, we doubled down on him tonight, and he really delivered,” Jakus said.
Now on a 2 game win streak, the Owls have looked to close righting the wrongs from their 3 game losing streak. The next step for FAU will be finding ways to become more consistent with their perimeter shooting and defense and if they are able to do that, watch out.
As for team morale, Jakus mentioned the team was dejected after the loss to Seton Hall and the loss to FGCU had to have made that even worse. According to Kaleb Glenn, this 2 game stretch is big for team morale and they will look to continue to improve on the court heading into the final 2 games of non-conference play and beyond.
“It’s big, especially leading up into Texas State, Michigan State, and then conference play, when you have morale going into those games that’s big,” Glenn said.
Game Recap
1H First 4
The game was a defensive battle early on as the Owls started the game with a very fluid possession which ended with a Walker alley-oop to Matas Vokietaitis, however after that both sides defenses took over. Jacksonville started 1 of 10 from the field through the first 4 minutes and change, while FAU had 4 early turnovers. After Matas scored the first bucket, the Owls didn’t score again for nearly 3 minutes, however he hit another one down low with 16:18 to play and a Tandy triple with 15:57 to go woke the building up and heading into the U16 timeout FAU was leading 7-5. Jacksonville was pesky early, forcing 4 turnovers and 2 offensive rebounds, however the Owls found themselves leading.
U12 Timeout
Not much changed over the next 3 minutes and change, as the Owls went 1 of 4 from the free throw line and for nearly 2 minutes the Owls held a 8-5 lead. Jacksonville snapped that with a made triple of their own, however back to back buckets from Walker and Carroll gave the Owls a 12-8 lead heading into the U12 timeout.
U8 Timeout
Jacksonville came out of the U12 with a jolt from beyond the arc, hitting triples on 5 straight possessions and while the Owls were matching, they still found themselves down 6, 23-17 with 8:57 to play. After Jakus called a timeout, the owls responded with 4 straight down low, 2 a piece from Walker and Vokietaitis and headed into the U8 the Dolphins led 23-21.
U4 Timeout
The Owls came out of the U8 with a burst of energy, scoring 9 straight, 5 of which from Kaleb Glenn and all of a sudden the Owls were taking control of the game, leading 30-23 which forced Jacksonville to take a timeout. FAU was limiting Jacksonville on the other end and heading into the U4 timeout, the Owls held a 30-23 lead.
Final 4
Both teams woke up offensively over the final few minutes, as out of the U4 timeout Jacksonville converted from 3, while Vokietaitis answered with a bucket down low and it went on from there. Carroll for FAU and Arias for Jacksonville exchanged triples with under a minute to go, which made our score 37-31 heading into halftime.
2H First 4
FAU came out of the gates with great energy to start the second half, responding to a triple the Dolphins made on their first possession of the half with an and 1 from Vokietaitis and they never looked back. FAU headed into the U16 timeout on a 10-3 run, converting from 3, attacking the paint and defending well, 3 traits that should help them finish strong. FAU forced 3 turnovers in the first 4 minutes and heading into the U16 timeout, the Owls led 47-34.
U12 Timeout
The Owls came out of the U16 timeout with an aggressive mindset to attack the basket and it payed off, getting multiple trips to the line and some game changing buckets. 2 huge momentum shifting dunks, one from Kaleb Glenn and another from Baba Miller, the latter giving FAU a 58-41 lead and forcing Jacksonville into a timeout. Jacksonville responded with back to back buckets from Robert McCray and heading into the U12 timeout, FAU led 58-45 with 11:55 to play.
U8 Timeout
The hot start to the second half continued for FAU as they went on an 11-1 run out of the U12 timeout and a pair of Walker free throws gave the Owls a 69-46 lead with 9:33 to go. The Owls ultimately turned that into a 14-4 run as Carroll converted an and 1, taking a 72-49 lead into the U8 timeout with 7:35 to play.
U4 Timeout
Zach Bell did his best for Jacksonville out of the U8, scoring 7 straight, however Carroll matched that with 5 of his own and a bucket from Kaleb Glenn extended the Owls lead to back to 23, 79-56 with 5:19 to play. Matas Vokietaitis converted on a bucket down low off an FAU steal and heading into the U4 timeout the Owls lead was up to 25, 82-57 with 3:30 to go.
Final 4
Devin Vanterpool snapped a near minute scoring drought on both sides to extend the Owls lead to 85-57 with 2:36 to play, however after that the well would dry up for the Owls, but it was too little, too late for the Dolphins. Jacksonville closed on a 6-0 run, as the Owls looked to get fan favorite Jack Johnson a bucket and were unable to, however FAU still went on to win 85-63.