Florida Atlantic men’s basketball (14-10, 6-5 AC) came up short once again in a close game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (20-3, 8-2 AC), 78-76. The Owls had multiple chances to win the game in the final five seconds, but missed their shots when it mattered most.
Tulsa tied the all-time series at 2-2 with this win; the last time Tulsa defeated the Owls was Feb. 20, 2014. This is also the closest margin of victory in the all-time series.
FAU’s leading scorer, guard Kanaan Carlyle, missed this game with a nagging calf injury. Guard Niccolo Moretti was given Carlyle’s starting spot while he dealt with the injury. Moretti stepped into his role and was the team’s highest scorer with 25 points on 10 field goals made out of 16 attempts.
“I’m proud of Nicco Moretti,” said FAU head coach John Jakus. “I think we’re going to have to make a decision on Kanaan here, moving forward with his health. I don’t know what’s wisest. And so, we went all in on him [Moretti] today, and I think it’s a real bright spot. I’m so thankful for him. I thought he was super special.”
Tulsa remains first in the American Conference, boasting the best in-conference record at 8-2. The Owls continue to slip in the rankings, falling from sixth to eighth in the conference.
As a team, FAU shot 43.5% from the field, 17.6% from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the free throw line. Tulsa, on the other hand, shot 45.2% from the field, 30.7% from beyond the arc, and 73.7% from the free throw line.
Tulsa forward Tyler Behrend leaped into the air and swatted the ball to guard Ade Popoola to win the tipoff for the Golden Hurricanes. Then, a two-minute and 23-second scoring drought ensued.
It was guard Isaiah Elohim with a baseline layup that scored the first points of the game. With the buzzer signaling the first media timeout four minutes into the game, the Owls led 6-4. Forward Josiah Parker hit a three-pointer for the Owls to take the lead going into the timeout.
Parker’s three seemingly gave the Owls the momentum needed to take the early 16-11 lead 10 minutes into the first half. Moretti’s speed couldn’t be guarded as he easily drove down the lanes for back-to-back layups; he had five of the 10 points scored during this stretch.
Tulsa forward David Green helped his team get within one point of FAU when he scored six of Tulsa’s following nine points. However, the Owls were able to hold onto a 21-20 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the first half.
From here on, both teams delivered back-and-forth five-point runs. The Owls extended their lead to 26-20, then Tulsa scored five points in 40 seconds with the help of Popoola and Tulsa guard Tylen Riley.
The Owls ended the half with a 7-0 run, capped with a tip-in buzzer beater shot from forward Devin Williams; Elohim and Williams both led the Owls in points with seven each. For Tulsa, Green led the team with eight points.
Tulsa started the second half with all of the momentum, going on a 16-4 run. Tulsa guard Miles Barnstable and Green combined for 12 of those 16 points. Barnstable didn’t score a single point in the first half, but now had seven points in the first five minutes of the second half.
During this run, forward Xander Pintelon went up for a shot and seemed to be fouled. In the process of that foul, however, Pintelon threw the ball at Green’s head and received a class A technical foul, which gave Tulsa two free throw attempts and the possession.
“The frustration boiling over on the court is not acceptable,” Jakus said. “We let him play in the first half; he did three fouls, and then to start the second half, we ran two sets for him. I was almost trying to force him to have a good game. I really want to help him. I care about him.”
“We’ll have to continue to communicate through that. I think there’s a good player in there and someone I really love, but right now, for sure, there’s some stuff to talk about.”
Tulsa took the lead going into the first media timeout of the second half, 41-36. After Moretti hit a three, Barnstable answered with back-to-back threes of his own to help Tulsa go on an 8-0 run. For the first time in this game, Tulsa led by double-digits with a 49-39 score.
With the help of guard Amar Amkou and Elohim, the Owls went on a 6-0 run to get within one possession of Tulsa. With 11 minutes remaining in the game, Tulsa and the Owls went blow for blow. Every time the Owls scored, Tulsa answered right back.
Moretti and Parker led the charge for the Owls, while Green held the Owls back from taking the lead. The matchup in the paint between Green and Parker was the highlight of this back-and-forth battle.
Eventually, the Owls could not keep up with Tulsa’s offensive output. Amkou missed back-to-back jump shots, and Tulsa went on a 5-0 run with two minutes remaining.
Tulsa had a five-point lead with 11 seconds left and Riley went to the free throw line for two shots. As Riley prepared to shoot his free throws, the crowd started dissipating.
However, he missed both free throws and Moretti made a layup with six seconds remaining, 78-75. The crowd stopped in their tracks.
Guard Devin Vanterpool stole the ball from Riley on the inbound pass. Elohim had a chance to tie the game with a three-point shot, but missed while being fouled; he had another chance at the free throw line with three free throws, but missed the first. After making the second, Elohim tried to purposely miss the free throw to have a chance to get an offensive rebound.
When the shot didn’t touch the rim, it was ruled a dead ball, and Tulsa went to the baseline to inbound the ball. Then, the Owls had another chance to win the game after Elohim stole the inbound pass from Barnstable. Unfortunately for the Owls, Elohim missed the three-point shot.
FAU will be heading on the road for its next matchup against the Rice University Owls on Wednesday, Feb. 11; tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
Morgan Larkins is a Contributing Writer for the University Press. For more information on this and other stories, email him at [email protected].
