The Florida Atlantic Owls (15-11, 8-5 AAC) were defeated 75-68 on Feb. 20 to the Wichita State Shockers (16-10, 6-7 AAC) in the Elly. 

This loss broke the five game win streak the Owls were on, and now the Shockers have a five game win streak of their own, which is the longest win streak in the American Athletic Conference currently. Last time the Owls experienced a loss on Jan. 26 against the University of North Texas. 

“Everyone at FAU probably gets an A-plus besides us,” head coach John Jakus said. “ The Seinfeld night was great, the tailgate was great, the environment was great. The win streak prior to it, I think, really had everything going in the right direction in the Elly and in the community. We’re disappointed we didn’t hold up our end of the bargain.”

In most of the major team statistical categories, the Shockers had an edge over the Owls. The Shockers made two more field goals, had more free throws, and produced more rebounds. However, they were also more efficient making 49% of their shots and 60% of their three-point shots. This is compared to the Owls’ 41% on all shots and 34.5% on their three point shots.

“Wichita State did a good job keeping us out of transition, walking the ball to the floor, [and] controlling the tempo,” Jakus said. “I thought there was some frustrated shots taken by us, which is pretty disappointing. We had 12 assists on 25 makes (shot attempts successful). That’s not even 50% of assist-ratio, which is disappointing because we’ve been hovering between 60 and 70 while we’ve been winning.” 

Recap

The Shockers won the opening tip-off but their center, Quincy Ballard, threw it from the baseline straight to Owls guard Leland Walker for the turnover. Unfortunately for the Owls, guard Kyky Tandy missed the three pointer to capitalize on the Shockers’ mistake.  

The Owls found themselves down six after a 6-0 run by the Shockers in the first three minutes of the game. They attempted three straight three-pointers and made none of them. The Shockers, meanwhile, were able to score in the paint over Owls forwards Baba Miller and Tre Carroll three consecutive times.

Carroll made a wing three to score the Owls first points. However, the Shockers followed that up with another two scores to take the 10-3 lead. Ballard scored twice on second chance opportunities after grabbing two offensive rebounds during this 10-3 run. 

Walker began the Owls turnaround with a mid range jumper, but Owls guard Niccolo Moretti clanked in a three point shot and layup to get the score within one possession. The Owls went on a 7-2 run in only a minute to close the gap, 12-10. 

The two teams went back-and-forth for five minutes until Owls forward Kaleb Glenn rocked the rim with a tomahawk dunk to tie the game at 17. With a made free throw from Glenn for the Owls to take the one point lead, it seemed as though the pendulum swung to the Owls.

A 15-0 run from the Shockers quickly dissolved any momentum the Owls had though. They missed eight consecutive shot attempts and could not stop the Shockers from scoring in the paint, mid range, or three point area for over six minutes. The Shockers led 32-18 with four minutes left in the first half. 

“We get a tie and then we probably relax a little bit,” Glenn said. “Once we get the game where we want, we gotta just keep pushing.”

The Owls were able to cut the lead to single digits with the help of Owls guard Ken Evans Jr scoring on a contested layup and a three pointer in the span of a minute. After some more back-and-forth between the two teams, the Owls went into halftime trailing 36-28. 

Tandy opened up the second half with a corner three-point shot, but then Shockers guard Bijan Cortez made two jump shots to prevent the complete momentum shift. The matchup was at a stalemate for over two minutes before the Shockers made two free throws to lead 42-31.

Then, all of a sudden, the Owls sprung back to life. Walker hit a wide open three followed by an electrifying dunk from Miller. The fans in the seats started to cheer louder and louder with each highlight the Owls brought. 

 While guard AJ Mcginnis did make a corner three pointer for the Shockers, FAU’s Glenn added a dunk of his own followed by Carroll stealing the ball from Mcginnis and passing it to Glenn once again. This time, he made a finger roll layup that was contested heavily at the rim to trim the deficit 45-40.

The crowd erupted into cheers and celebrations as a media timeout was called. The momentum fully shifted toward the Owls. After a made jump shot from Moretti, and a couple of made free throws from Vokietaitis and Glenn, the Owls were back within one possession of the Shockers. 

All the Owls needed was one more chance to take the lead once again. With Shockers guard Xavier Bell missing the three point shot, the offense was given their chance. Glenn received the ball on the fast break and made the driving layup. The Owls took the 48-47 lead. 

However, the Shockers quickly retook the lead with four consecutive scores led by Bell to take the seven point lead. It looked like the Owls were going to let the Shockers go on a big stretch once again, but the Owls went on a 7-0 run themselves to tie the game at 55. 

The student section was on their feet cheering with an Owls score, and groaned with a Shockers score. Although the two teams were trading blows, the Shockers were able to slowly pull away with an extra three pointer and shooting foul over the Owls. This would result in a 65-60 lead for the Shockers with a little over four minutes remaining. 

The Owls got a chance to dwindle the lead with Walker and Miller shooting free throws. However, they both missed one resulting in a 65-62 deficit with two minutes remaining. The Shockers capitalized on this by making a three pointer at the end of the shot clock to extend their lead to six.

When the Owls had their chance to respond, Miller had possession of the ball and dragged a second defender to him. This defender left Evans Jr open in the corner where he  hit the three pointer to cut the deficit back to three. 

The Shockers always had a response to the Owls though. Bell drove to the basket and made the contested layup to push the lead to five. This was the dagger for the Shockers. After some more shooting fouls given to the Shockers, the Owls were defeated 75-68.

Morgan Larkins is a Staff Writer for the University Press. Email him at mlarkins2023@fau.edu or DM him on Instagram or Twitter @mj_larkins for more information regarding this or other stories.