After FAU and Dayton both thought their season was over following early exits in their respective conference tournaments, they have each received a lifeline and will matchup in the first round of the NIT tournament. Both the Owls and Flyers showed potential this season, however each had unfortunate losses that kept them from reaching their full potential and tonight is a chance to right those wrongs.
Stay tuned for live updates as the game progresses.
1H First 4-
Early on in this one both sides came out with juice, as FAU hit 3 of their first 5 shots, getting a tomahawk jam from Baba Miller and Dayton hit 4 of their first 7, getting 2 strong drives from Nate Santos and heading into the U16 Timeout, things were even at 9 a piece with 15:31 to play.
1H U12 timeout-
The back and forth battle continued over the next few minutes, however FAU went on a mini 9-5 run, responding to a Dayton triple that briefly halted their run with one of their own from Devin Vanterpool and heading into the U12 timeout with 11:28 to go the Owls were holding an 18-17 lead, hitting 7 of their first 9 shots and assisting on 3.
1H U8 timeout-
The Owls went on another 9-5 run over the next couple of minutes, getting another high-flying dunk from Miller, which forced Dayton into a timeout, trailing 27-22 with 9 minutes to go. Dayton came out of the timeout with a triple, however FAU answered with one from Leland Walker and heading into the U8 timeout, FAU was holding a 30-27 lead with 7:41 to play.
1H U4 timeout-
Things began to slow down for FAU over the next few minutes, as Matas Vokietaitis converted a three point play to give the Owls a 33-28 lead with 7:17 to play, however after that the drought began. Dayton went on an 8-0 run over the next few minutes, taking a 36-33 lead into the U4 timeout with 3:55 to play.
1H Final 4-
The Owls cut into the deficit before the break, taking a 38-37 lead with 2:08 to play, however that would fade fast. Dayton would close the half on a 7-0 run, hitting 3 straight free throws to end the half and take a 44-38 lead into the break.
Halftime thoughts-
There was a lot of good for the Owls in this half, finishing 56% from the field and assisting on 8 out of 14 field goals, however Dayton scored 6 points off 6 FAU turnovers which was the difference in the game. The Owls had multiple scoring droughts which hurt them in the first half and in the second they need to find consistency, or their season is officially over.
2H First 4-
The Owls came out with no energy to start the second half, as Javon Bennett hit back to back triples and an alley-oop to Amael L’etang forced Jakos into a timeout, with FAU trailing 52-42 with 15:54 to play. The timeout didn’t change much, as heading into the U16 timeout with 13:53 to play, Dayton went on a 7-0 run and took a commanding 59-44 lead into the break.
2H u12 timeout-
Dayton kept it rolling over the next couple minutes, getting 3 triples from Javon Bennett to spark a 9-5 run and heading into the U12 timeout, Dayton was holding a 68-49 lead with 10:57 to play.
2H U8 timeout-
The Owls were ready to say die just yet, as they went on a 10-4 run over the next few minutes, getting triples from Kaleb Glenn and Baba Miller and heading into the U8 timeout, the Dayton lead was down to 13, 72-59 with 7:59 to play.
2H U4 timeout-
The Owls continued to fight down the stretch, getting strong paint play from Vokietaitis and Carroll, however Dayton continued to respond and heading into the U4 timeout with exactly 4 minutes to go, Dayton was leading 78-68.