FAU overcame Wichita State 95-82 on the road, avoiding back-to-back loss in overtime.

Gasner Delvarin Jr, Writer

February 12, 2024

WICHITA, Kan. - After their fifth defeat in the season in Alabama, Florida Atlantic Owls (19-5, AAC 9-2) bounced back in an overtime victory 95-82 against Wichita State Shockers (10-14, 2-9) on Sunday afternoon.

With both teams tied at 74, FAU took control in the overtime from the jumped ball when the junior guard Alijah Martin drove and scored a layup for his first made bucket in the game, followed by the senior guard Brandon Weatherspoon, who stole the ball, and drove down the court for another layup started creating separation to put the Owls up by four at 78-74. 

Although the Owls shot an overall 47.2% throughout the game compared to the Shockers' 50.8% from the court, they closed the overtime with an impressive 21-8 to win the ball game. 

“We made two hustle plays to start, and that set the tone in overtime,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said.

Xavier Bell contributed the highest score for Wichita State, amassing 25 points from the bench, and Colby Rogers with 21 points. 

The junior center Vladislav Goldin finished close to a double-double for FAU with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Weatherspoon came off the bench and contributed an offensive spark, shooting 7-for-9 to tally 19 points, providing momentum.

“Obviously, his stat line is easy to talk about today, but his impact goes so much beyond that,” May highlighted about Weatherspoon.

With this victory, the Owls are now 8-1 from their last nine games and remain in the Associate Press rankings, but dropped to No. 24.

Florida Atlantic will host Temple on Thursday night, whereas Wichita State will visit East Carolina on Thursday night.

AAC, Alijah Martin, Brandon Weatherspoon, Vladislav Goldin, Dusty May, FAU, Gasner Delvarin Jr, Men's Basketball, Sports