South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Owls get back to winning ways
CHARLOTTE — Vladislav Goldin had 15 points and No. 19 Florida Atlantic earned a 67-52 victory over Charlotte on Saturday, just two days after the Owls had their 20-game win streak snapped.
Alijah Martin added 11 points and Brandon Weatherspoon had
10 for the Owls (22-2, 12-1 Conference USA), who outscored Charlotte 37-21 in the second half
Brice Williams led Charlotte
(13-10, 4-8) with 14 points. FAU had put together a school-record 20 straight wins — dating to a Nov. 14 win at Florida — before falling on the road to UAB
86-77 on Thursday night.
The Owls built a 10-point lead in the first half before the 49ers rallied to take a 31-30 lead at the break, with Lu’Cye Patterson scoring on a spin move on the low block and converting the ensuing free throw for a three-point play. But FAU owned the second half. The Owls opened the second half with an 20-4 run, finding success pounding the ball inside to 7-foot-1 Goldin, who scored four straight points and helped open driving lanes and spot-up 3s for his teammates. Bryan Greenlee and Michael Forrest took advantage, knocking down back-to-back 3s to help put the Owls up by 15 with 10 minutes remaining.
Unlike in the previous meeting, when Charlotte was able to cut a
20-point deficit to two before ultimately losing 71-67, there would be no frantic rally.
Greenlee came open off a screen to hit another 3 to push the lead to
17 with 4 minutes remaining. Charlotte struggled to get much going on the offensive end, often using the entire shot clock before settling for low-percentage shots.
Up next: Florida Atlantic: Hosts Rice on Thursday night.