After Florida Atlantic Men’s basketball closed the month of November with a two game losing streak, they have opened December with back-to-back wins and overcame some adversity in the process.
The Owls grinded out a gritty win on the road on Sunday over FGCU, coming back from down 11 in the second-half to knock off the Eagles 81-76. That late game surge translated into Wednesday’s matchup against Saint Leo, as the Owls stomped the Lions 112-55.
Although the score doesn’t indicate it, the Owls experienced a bit of adversity in this one as well, struggling with turnovers and a shooting slump during a first half where they mostly maintained a single digit lead. That all changed in the second half, as nearly every Owl who touched the court seemingly caught fire.
7 Owls finished in double-figures, led by Yohann Sissoko who finished with 20 points on 8-9 shooting. Isaiah Elohim finished with 16 points, Devin Vanterpool had 15 all in the first half, Max Langenfeld had a career high 15 points, while Josiah Parker and Xander Pintelon each finished with 10 points.
According to FAU Head Coach John Jakus, the offense was healthy tonight, seeing a balance of called sets and free flowing offense that led to a night where everyone was able to contribute.
“In the first half. For sure. I wanted Nico to call the sets. Then the share was almost like a test. And then the second half, I think I took over the set calling. But after stops or loose balls, there was no set calling. It was just flowing into action. And so if we found a shot or a mismatch, something uncontested or a paint touch, we just went with it,” Jakus said.
“I’m thrilled with the guys. This is a healthy day for a bunch of guys on the team to see the ball go in and on top of the making threes in the second half, I’m just thrilled the way we’re shooting free throws the last two games- and the 22 of 22- when you see the free throw go in, a lot of those next shots fall right after.”
Below are three takeaways from FAU’s 7th victory of the season.
Guards stepping up in Carlyle’s absence
Florida Atlantic guard Kanaan Carlyle has missed the last two games due to injury, according to FAU Head Coach John Jakus. In his absence multiple guards have been able to step up in an expanded role.
Nico Moretti has earned the bump to the starting lineup and although he hasn’t stuffed the score column, he has made his impact as a distributor. Against Saint Leo, Moretti led FAU with 7 assists, tying the second most assists he’s had in a game during his career.
While Devin Vanterpool has continued to score at a high volume in Carlyle’s absence, chipping in 24 and 15 respectively over the last two games, Isaiah Elohim, Yohann Sissoko and Max Langenfeld have all seen a new uptick in usage over the last two games.
Elohim scored 11 points against FGCU and followed that up with 16 against Saint Leo, shooting above 45% from the field on 10 or more shots in both games, something he did only once prior this season.
Sissoko has been relatively quiet since his 15 point performance in the opening night win over Boston College, however over the last two games he has seen his minutes and points skyrocket.
Against FGCU, Sissoko played over 20 minutes for the first time since November 9th against Liberty, chipping in 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. That was followed up with a season high 25 minutes against Saint Leo, which led to a career high 20 points and missed just one shot from the field.
As for Langenfeld, he played a career high 15 minutes against Saint Leo, dropping 15 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Jakus believes a chance like this to get Moretti, Sissoko, and Langenfeld live reps is healthy and it has given them an opportunity to overcome some inconsistencies in game.
“I’m happy to get Nico the reps, and obviously we believe in him. Yohann, having 20 tonight, it certainly helped him, and then it’s allowed us to come back to Max. There was times where we couldn’t make a three against against FGCU zone, and it’s almost like it’s good to see Max see that go in. It’s really healthy for us,” Jakus said.
Josiah Parker providing Bench Boost
There was a lot of hype this offseason when FAU landed the highest recruit in school history, Josiah Parker and over the last two games he has shown why he earned that status out of high school.
Against FGCU, Parker sparked a second half comeback with 16 points and 5 rebounds, hitting the Eagles with a boost of physicality that created a mis-match on both ends of the court. He continued the trend of productive second half’s against Saint Leo, finishing with 10 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists, with 8 of those points coming in the final stanza.
At 6 ‘7 225 pounds, Parker has the physical skill-set to cause havoc for opponents on both ends of the court and we have seen him do exactly that against two smaller opponents in FGCU and Saint Leo.
The consistency of that going forward will be key for FAU, as if Parker can continue to grow as a freshman and get to a point where he can produce night-in and night-out, we could see his minutes continue to rise as the season progresses.
After the FGCU game, Jakus explained how Parker is able to give the Owls a mis-match ability against smaller teams.
“Josiah is as good a mis-match player in high school and we could see that last year, top 75 kid. The mis-match thing, they were too small when they guarded him with somebody smaller and the big guy couldn’t handle his balance and bump. We had to switch 1-5 today and we didn’t expect that and he gave it to us,” Jakus said.
Owls tuning up before tough stretch to close conference play
After the back to back losses to George Mason and Saint Bonaventure, FAU had 3 opportunities to right their wrongs before they head to face Saint Mary’s on the road and UCF on a neutral court.
Through their first two opportunities, they have begun to right the wrongs of their two game skid, starting with figuring out offense outside of the three ball and limiting opponents from beyond the arc.
FAU has now held back to back opponents under 30% from beyond the arc, something they did only once prior this season. On the offensive side of the ball, they have avoided the cold stretches which plagued them offensively and it has led to a much more consistent output.
The Owls are growing with each non-conference opportunity and they will have a chance to show how much they have grown when they head to Saint Mary’s on December 19th and UCF on December 23rd.
“If the discipline and the love in our house is where it needs to be, those UCF and St Mary’s games will be gifts to us. We need to get to Saturday, and then we can focus on that. But discipline and love in our house is what matters, and then the way we love the players and they love us back,” Jakus said.