Florida Atlantic will look for its second straight win when it battles St. Bonaventure on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Classic at Springfield, Mass.
The No. 15-ranked Owls (8-2) crushed Florida International 94-60 on Wednesday.
Johnell Davis scored 16 points and Alijah Martin added 14 in the balanced effort. Brandon Weatherspoon and Bryan Greenlee had 12 apiece.
The Owls led the entire way and shot 64.3 percent from the field.
But head coach Dusty May believes that they can play better.
“I don’t think we played exceptionally well but we did play connected,” May said. “We shared the ball. We took care of the ball against the No. 1 turnover-forcing team in the country. Overall, we did a lot of good things.”
FAU fell to Illinois last week in New York yet it has rebounded in a big way.
The Owls never allowed FIU to pose a serious threat.
“We were really just focusing on our response,” Greenlee said. “We were slower the last game and we weren’t playing like ourselves. I think it was important for us to get our mojo back and really get connected as a team.”
“As we turn the page, we looked a little fresher, looked like we had a little pop,” May added.
FAU looked rested and ready. But the Owls won’t have much time to revel in this win with a difficult matchup looming against the Bonnies.
Still, these are different times for the Owls, who certainly look confident coming off a run to last season’s Final Four.
“I think the unique thing with us is we have five talented scorers on the floor at all times,” May said.
St. Bonaventure will look for its sixth straight victory when it battles FAU.
The Bonnies improved to 7-2 after an 89-56 victory over Siena on Saturday.
Mika Adams-Woods hit all nine of his shots and scored 23 points. Adams-Woods has hit 19 of his last 20 shots, including 10 in a row from 3-point territory.
Chad Venning scored 20 points, Moses Flowers added 12 and Daryl Banks III chipped in with 11.
“Each game I think I’m getting more comfortable,” Adams-Woods said. “I’m glad I have captains like Moses and Daryl by my side talking to me day in and day out. I know I don’t want to do too much. I just let the game come to me and pick my spots knowing when to get in the lane, take my shots and dish it out.
“My teammates have been putting their confidence in me, telling me to keep going, keep shooting, so yeah I feel good.”
St. Bonaventure has been shooting at a torrid rate lately. Over their last five games, the Bonnies are averaging 84 points per game while shooting better than 53 percent.
If the Bonnies aim to continue winning, they’ll need to keep executing on the defensive end.
“I thought we played extremely well, especially on defense,” St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “Siena coming into the game was one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. Right now, we’re in a hot time of the season where we’re shooting the ball really well, but that’s not going to last.
“What lasts, what’s the constant is our defense. That will be the staple and in the last three games it has been.”
–Field Level Media