Owls' Effort Falls Short in Overtime at Bartow Arena Against Blazers

The Florida Atlantic Owls, ranked 20th, faced a challenging contest against the UAB Blazers at Bartow Arena, culminating in an intense overtime battle. The Owls now stand with a record of 20-6 after a hard-fought game that ended with a score of 76-73 in favor of the home team.

The Owls started strong, leading the first half with 39 points compared to the Blazers' 32. However, momentum shifted as the game progressed into the second half where they added only 28 points to their tally while UAB scored 35. The tie led both teams into overtime where FAU managed to score six points but ultimately fell short as UAB secured nine additional points for the win.

Florida Atlantic's performance was marked by aggressive defense and fast-paced play. They accumulated ten steals and two blocks throughout the game while also contributing twelve assists. Their efforts translated into significant fast break opportunities resulting in 16 fast break points. Additionally, they capitalized on turnovers by scoring another 16 points off them.

Offensively, FAU struggled with field goal attempts making only 34 percent from their total of seventy-seven shots and were slightly more successful from beyond the arc hitting ten out of twenty-eight three-point attempts for a three-point percentage of thirty-six. Inside scoring was more productive for them as they notched up thirty points in paint.

Rebounding was an area where Florida Atlantic excelled; they pulled down forty-five rebounds including sixteen offensive boards which helped them secure twenty-one second-chance points. Despite these efforts, personal fouls were an issue for FAU as they committed fourteen throughout the game but managed not to have any player foul out or ejected.

On UAB's side, their shooting accuracy proved crucial especially from two-point range where they hit fifty-two percent of their shots contributing significantly to their forty-two paint points total. Their free throw performance was also noteworthy with an impressive seventy-nine percent success rate which played a pivotal role during crunch time.

Looking ahead after this tough loss on foreign hardwoods, Florida Atlantic Owls will be facing Wichita State Shockers at Charles Koch Arena on February 11th at noon Eastern Time (11 AM Central). Fans eager to support can catch all live action broadcasted nationally on ESPN2 channel number two hundred nine.