No. 10 Florida Atlantic and Temple both picked up wins on Tuesday night, November 14, in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action.
No. 10 Florida Atlantic 100, Eastern Michigan 57 - Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Some students started lining up Monday night outside Florida Atlantic's arena, arriving almost 24 hours before game time to get their choice of seat. They remembered all the chants and waves, sang along with Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and tried to mob players in celebration when the night was over.
It's a new season. But the vibe from last year's Final Four run lives on in Boca Raton.
Vladislav Goldin scored 19 points, Brandon Weatherspoon made all six of his shots to finish with 16 points and No. 10 Florida Atlantic eased past Eastern Michigan 100-57 on Tuesday night.
“It was awesome to see the guys and ladies camped out and for this to be a big deal,” said Owls coach Dusty May, who brought those overnight-camping students doughnuts and T-shirts Tuesday morning to thank them for the commitment. “Our guys deserve for this to be a big deal.”
Giancarlo Rosado and Brenen Lorient each scored 13 points for the Owls (2-0), who were playing for the first time with last season’s Final Four banner swaying over the court. FAU extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 19 games and shot 63% on the way to finishing with six players in double figures.
Only UCLA has a longer current home streak than the Owls. The Bruins - winners of 27 straight at Pauley Pavilion - host Long Island University on Wednesday. FAU broke a tie with Liberty and UMass-Lowell, both winners of 18 in a row at home.
“My freshman year, we had 400, maybe 500 people here,” Rosado said. “To see it sold out ... it's a blessing.”
Tyson Acuff scored 20 points and Legend Geeter added 13 for Eastern Michigan (1-2), which gave up a 12-0 run in each half. The Eagles fell to 0-26 against Top 10 teams and 3-49 in their Division I era against teams ranked in the AP Top 25. They haven't beaten a ranked team since topping then-No. 22 Michigan 89-83 on Dec. 17, 1997.
This one was over early - FAU got an alley-oop dunk from Goldin 6 seconds after he won the opening tip, and the Owls started 8 of 9 from the field on the way to a 20-5 lead just 5:13 into the contest. The lead 51-28 at the break, the outcome decided.
Eastern Michigan, through eight minutes, had one fewer point (11) than FAU had assists (12). The Eagles didn’t get back-to-back shots to fall until early in the second half.
“Wouldn’t surprise me if they go back to the Final Four,” Eastern Michigan coach Stan Heath said of the Owls. “That’s a well-rounded team. Really shoot it well, pass it well, play extremely hard on both ends of the court.”
BIG PICTURE
Eastern Michigan: It was a return to Florida for Heath, who coached South Florida for seven seasons from 2007 through 2014. He also spent four years with the Lakeland Magic, winning the G League title with Orlando’s affiliate in 2021 before returning to his alma mater.
FAU: The home opener drew the biggest crowd in FAU history - 3,161 fans filling the arena that, for now, doubles as the program’s practice facility. (There are plans to change that before long.) It was the seventh time in program history that more than 3,000 fans came to an FAU game; all of those instances have taken place in 2023, with the previous record of 3,130 getting set on Feb. 25 against UTEP.
Temple 66, Drexel 64 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Hysier Miller scored 19 points and sank two free throws with 6 seconds remaining to help Temple hold off Drexel 66-64 on Tuesday night.
Miller also had six rebounds for the Owls (3-0). Matteo Picarelli added 11 points while shooting 2 for 4 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 6 of 8 from the free throw line, and he also had five rebounds. Jahlil White had nine points and shot 3 of 9 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line.
Luke House led the way for the Dragons (1-2) with 20 points and six rebounds. Drexel also got 18 points and four assists from Justin Moore. Yame Butler also had nine points.
Lamar 90, UTSA 82 - Box Score
BEAUMONT, Texas -- UTSA had four players in double figures, but the Roadrunners (1-2) fell at Lamar, 90-82, Tuesday night.
Adante' Holiman had 22 points, while PJ Carter and Trey Edmonds each had 12 points. Carlton Linguard Jr added 10 points.
Terry Anderson led Lamar (2-1) with 20 points.
No. 13 Texas A&M 79, SMU 66 - Box Score
DALLAS -- (AP) — Tyrece Radford scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, Henry Coleman III had 13 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 13 Texas A&M beat SMU 79-66 on Tuesday night in a meeting of old Southwest Conference foes.
Wade Taylor IV, the Aggies' leading scorer, had 15 points on a rough shooting night in his hometown as the Aggies (3-0) won twice in their first back-to-back true road games in non-conference in 20 years. Texas A&M was coming off a 73-66 victory at Ohio State.
Chuck Harris scored 21 points and Zhuric Phelps had 13 on just 3-of-14 shooting for the Mustangs (3-1), who were hosting the Aggies at Moody Coliseum for the first time since 2009.
It was the fifth meeting between the schools since the SWC's final season in 1995-96, and Texas A&M beat SMU for the second year in a row.
Radford punctuated his big first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cap an 8-2 run for a 39-32 lead.
The Mustangs had trimmed a 12-point second-half deficit to four when Coleman, who tied his career high rebounds, grabbed a loose ball under the basket, made the shot and was fouled.
Coleman's free throw put the Aggies up 57-50 with 8 1/2 minutes to go, and Texas A&M eventually restored its double-digit lead.
Taylor, who scored 11 points after the break, was 4 of 17 from the field and missed all seven of his 3-point shots.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: Coleman has consecutive double-doubles for the second time in his three-plus seasons, and 12 for his career. He had his first 20-point double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Buckeyes.
SMU: The Mustangs got off to a great start from 3-point range and finished 10 of 23. But they struggled all game inside the arc, going 13 of 42 (31%).