BOCA RATON, Fla.- Rosado, Greenlee, Weatherspoon, Goldin, Lorient, and Boyd all scored double digits as Florida Atlantic decimated Eastern Michigan for their first home win of the season, 100-57.
After their first win over Loyola Chicago, FAU was looking to make a statement in front of their electric home crowd for the first time this season.
The crowd was loud and excited from the moment the game tipped off. The fans had a lot to cheer about, as the Owls came out scorching hot while playing lockdown defense. Vladislav Goldin got an alley oop six seconds after he won the tip off that sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Owls were able to hold EMU to 39.3% shooting in the first half. Their size proved to be lethal, dominating in the paint and on the boards going into halftime (21-12 rebounds and 30-16 paint points). Star guard Brandon Weatherspoon went a perfect 4-4 from the field in the first half to go along with three rebounds. Overall, there were five Owls that scored seven points or more in the first half.
“It was my teammates but most definitely the fans, they make us play ten times harder,” Brandon Weatherspoon said on his hot start and how the atmosphere impacted him.
“You see what sports can do for a student body, it really brings people together… me and Bryan Greenlee pulled up a game from a couple years ago to see what the crowd looked like and just laughed,” FAU head coach Dusty May said on the positive change the program has gone through over the last year.
EMU struggled to make this much of a contest. By halftime, FAU had already gone up 51-28 and never looked back. Eastern Michigan’s two bright spots were Tyson Acuff and Legend Geeter. Acuff finished with 20 and Geeter had 13.
With all five starters returning and only one player leaving, Florida Atlantic is off to a great start to their seasonm building off of their surprise final four run. The Owls finished this game shooting 62.5% from the floor and created 21 points off turnovers. The only area of concern for the Owls would be their percentage from the free throw line (58.3%).
The Owls play again at home Saturday night against Bryant and look to build off their momentum. Eastern Michigan looks to redeem themselves when they take on Cleveland State Saturday night in their first home game.