After two close games this season, Florida Atlantic men’s basketball redeemed itself from its last road trip matchup with the Tulane Green Wave on Jan. 4 and took the win at home.
After the 79-74 win, FAU (13-6, 5-1 American) continues to sit in first place in the American Conference rankings, and the Green Wave (12-6, 3-2 American) sits at sixth. FAU came into this game on a four-game winning streak after their recent win on the road against Temple University, 79-73 on Jan. 18; their winning streak now grows to five, and Tulane’s losing streak now grows to three.
“I thought it was a great night for us at the Elly … the effort that marketing put into it, the fans being here, students, actually being back in class. I’m really thankful for those moments for us,” said head coach John Jakus in the postgame press conference.
Guard Devin Vanterpool was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while shooting 46% from the field; guard Isaiah Elohim was right behind him with 18 points, two rebounds and two assists.
“I thought I could have done more in the first half,” said Elohim when asked how he felt about his performance. “But I felt like the second half, I got it going, but I just need to be more consistent for them in both halves.”
As a team, FAU shot 51.9% from the field, 44.4% from beyond the arc, and 58.6% from the free-throw line.
The Owls have a dominant home record this season of 9-1, including a 4-0 mark in conference play; they were picked to finish sixth in the conference in preseason rankings.
FAU won the tipoff courtesy of forward Devin Williams, and guard Isaiah Elohim scored immediately on the fast break, giving FAU the early lead. FAU temporarily entered a scoring drought lasting a little over two minutes, until forward Xander Pintelon drained a three-pointer to give the Owls a 13-6 lead.
Tulane went on a 12-1 run for over two minutes and made 4/4 of their shots during that time, giving the Green Wave a 22-16 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first half. Guards Kanaan Carlyle and Devin Vanterpool hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Owls back the lead, 23-22; FAU went on a 9-0 scoring run in two minutes.
The nation’s No. 2 leader for blocks per game, Williams, added to his count with his first one of the night, followed by a missed fast-break layup by guard Yohann Sissoko and a second-chance three-pointer from Vanterpool to give the Owls an eight-point lead with 4:30 remaining in the first half.
Tulane shot 20% in addition to being in a 2:08 scoring drought, dropping their deficit to 11 with less than a minute remaining.
The Owls go into halftime with an 11-point lead on the Green Wave, 43-32.
Elohim opened up the second half with an electric dunk, assisted by Williams. Tulane also opened up the second half with zero points for over three minutes.
A steal from Elohim allowed Williams to dunk the ball following a turnover from Tulane guard Asher Woods to give the Owls a nine-point lead.
The half was quiet for the Owls in terms of scoring, but the Owls managed to survive a free-throw battle and came out with their third win in program history against Tulane.
The Owls will travel to Tampa to face their in-state conference rivals, the University of South Florida Bulls, on Sunday, Jan. 25 at the Yuengling Center; tipoff is confirmed for 1 p.m.
“I think just keep the turnover margin a little bit more down and don’t make mistakes to kind of mess up ourselves in that instance, because I don’t think anybody can beat us; we just beat ourselves. So I think once we get better at that, then we’ll be just fine,” said Elohim regarding what this game taught them going into their next game.
Angelina Martell is the Editor-in-Chief of the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or DM her @angieemartell for more information on this and other stories.
