The Beach Boys did what they do best on Saturday afternoon, winning in paradise with a team effort on both sides of the ball. This game featured a great college basketball atmosphere, a raucous student section was partying in the parking lot at 7 AM, students dressed up as flamingoes once again, and the swim team donned speedos, heckling opposing players during free-throw attempts, but it was the play on the court that spoke volumes. FAU had 6 players score 8 or more, and they were led by Vlad Goldin’s 21 points in a 79-73 victory over Tulane.
It was important for FAU to bounce back following the tough loss to Memphis, and they did exactly that, finding their balanced offensive attack and getting a swarming team effort defensively. Although the Owls didn’t have the most effective game from deep, they made important triples which helped space the offense and open up opportunities for Vlad to succeed down low.
The win was a crucial steppingstone for FAU to continue getting to a point of playing their best brand of basketball come the end of the season, however the game got close down the stretch and there are still things the team hopes to improve before the AAC tournament. FAU Coach Dusty May is happy to “escape” with the win and hopes this win can help the team continue to improve on both ends of the court.
“We are excited to escape with this win after a choppy and interrupted game, got a very tough week coming up at North Texas and Memphis back here. We’re excited to be where we are at this point in the season with a lot of basketball left to play with us still trying to regain our rhythm on both sides of the ball,” May said after the game.
The paint physicality and success FAU was able to have in some of their most recent games carried over to this one early. The first 9 points all came from the paint, or a drive into the paint that resulted in free throws.
Unfortunately for the Owls, their 3-point struggles also translated from their past games, as they started 1 of 4 from deep, and Tulane was 8 of 12 from the field through the first 9 minutes of play. It resulted in a back-and-forth affair early on, and with 11:42 to play 5 lead changes had already occurred and Tulane led 17-15.
The offense for FAU went entirely cold and went over a 7-minute stretch in the middle of the first half, making only one shot from the field. Vlad hit a hook shot with 10:13 to play, but the Owls only made basket between 14:27 and 7:05 during the first half. That cold streak hurt FAU and allowed Tulane to jump out to a 5-point lead, 24-19, with 8:45 to play and FAU was needing to find a way to grab momentum and find some shooting.
The cold streak ended about a minute later, and FAU found hot hands in Jalen Gaffney and Nick Boyd. He snapped the cold streak with 7:07 to play with a triple to make it 24-23 Tulane and that woke the offense up. A few possessions later, Nick Boyd hit back-to-back triples and with 4:39 to play, FAU had a 5-point lead of their own, 31-26. Gaffney, who had 8 first half points, hit another triple with 3:13 to play and FAU had their largest lead of the half, 36-27. The Owls turned it around quickly following a slow start and Coach May credited his bench for that burst and said some early mistakes can hopefully be worked out over the next couple of games, speaking more on it after the game.
“I thought our bench brought great energy and we were able to get some stops and get out in transition. Even in our transition game we’re not clicking the way we are capable of clicking. For us to be able to get out of here with a win and make the errors that we uncharacteristically made tonight, you feel encouraged, if we just clean a few things up we can make a massive jump,” May said after the game.
FAU finding their shot down the stretch and combining with their solid paint attack was critical and helped them hold a 36-29 lead going into the half. Both sides were getting a balanced attack, as Vlad and Gaffney were leading FAU with 9 & 8 respectively, while Greg Glen, Sion James and Kevin Cross had 7, 7, and 6 respectively. The difference in the first half was FAU getting hot down the stretch and building into it going into halftime. A second half with that kind of performance would make it tough for Tulane to comeback, even with their high offensive intensity.
FAU started the second half with exactly what fans wanted to see, a physical post move from Vlad on the first possession resulting in a bucket, and a made triple from Alijah Martin on the next possession to jolt the Owls lead to double digits for the first time, 41-31 with 18:40 to play.
A 12-4 run to start the second half will work wonders for you, and that’s exactly what the Owls had to begin play in the final stanza this afternoon. Anything was working in the beginning part of the half for anybody, as Vlad was dominating the paint, Alijah was able to blow by a defender for a bucket, Jalen Gaffeny hit another triple, and Johnell Davis joined the party with his first points of the half to give FAU a 53-33 lead with 13:47 to play.
Tulane attempted to battle back following the 20-point deficit, as the green wave started to find their balanced offensive attack and get buckets from a variety of players. Following a double technical foul on Jaylen Forbes and Johnell Davis with 11:44 to play, and a Brennen Lorient flagrant foul, Tulane caught a wave of momentum.
The Green Wave cut the lead back to 10, 56-46, on a Jaylen Forbes triple with 11:04 to play, and Kolby King, Collin Holloway, Tre Williams all had buckets during their run. This could have been a point where FAU collapsed and gave in, as the lead closed to 6, but after the game Coach May explained what his message to his team was when he was able to rally the troops and keep his team focused on closing the Green Wave out.
“Our behaviors our contagious and we all have to keep our composure and stay poised and find a way to rally around the right things instead of getting caught up in the skirmishes when the play is dead,” May said after the game.
Following that stretch, the game itself slowed down due to fouls and overall slow play. The teams were only making a few baskets per minute, but FAU found a way to get different players involved, albeit sparingly. Brandon Weatherspoon was able to get to the line multiple times down the stretch, Vlad was able to continue his paint domination, catching lobs next to the rim and putting them up and in time and time again, Johnell Davis was able to penetrate inside and get a few looks close to the rim, and Jalen Gaffney continued making plays on both ends of the court. Gaffney stepped up tonight for FAU, providing a calming force similar to what Michael Forrest provided at times last year, and after the game May explained how he was able to do that.
“It seemed like he was really trying to lead like a veteran point Guard should, he had great composure, and I never questioned his body language, or his positive energy. I thought he played a very good floor game overall,” May said.
The lead hovered around double digits over the final 10 minutes of play, and Tulane was briefly able to close it within 6 during the final minutes and Johnell Davis fouled out for FAU. However, the Owls were able to win the free throw battle down the stretch and close out the Green Wave, 79-73, without making a field goal over the final 2:23.
An important win for many reasons, but maybe at the top of the list would be the fact it helps get the team closer to securing an at-large bid, and after the game Coach May gave his thoughts on what FAU may need to do to receive that bid.
“I think if we win these next 2, we’ll feel much better about our chances. Therefore, we won’t have to play cheerleader, watching big east, big 10 or 12. That’s something I try not to get distracted with, I’m sure the staff and players look at the projections and things. All that does is take me away from what I need to be doing,” May said after the game.
FAU will have a few days off before taking on North Texas on the road Wednesday night, in what may be a very difficult conference matchup between 2 teams with a budding rivalry. Following that will be the season finale, Memphis, in what could be one of the most watched AAC games of the year.
