Alijah Martin's 22 points lead Florida Atlantic past Wichita State 86-77 in AAC basketball

BOCA RATON — No. 23 Florida Atlantic completed a furious comeback over a skidding Wichita State on Thursday night to post an 86-77 victory.

The Owls (14-4, 3-1 AAC) trailed for over 33 minutes before a flurry of 3s in clutch time lifted them past the Shockers (8-9, 0-3).

FAU stayed alive by working hard on the offensive glass, and it paid dividends. The Owls finished with 14 offensive rebounds, 21 second-chance points and 42 points in the paint.

“It all comes down to rebounding,” said Wichita State head coach Paul Mills. “They ended up retrieving 50% of their misses … and I mean, the disparity at the free-throw line is what it is, and we’re not going to be great at making free throws, it’s just not who we are. But the difference was their ability to retrieve half their shots in the second half.”

Here are three takeaways from the Owls' win.

Wichita State's red-hot start puts Owls in early hole

The Shockers started the game with a 7-0 run, and held a 13-2 lead four minutes in, thanks in part to some quick FAU turnovers. Wichita State went 3-for-3 from deep in the first five minutes and continued to be effective in the paint despite a strong defensive effort from Vlad Goldin.

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler arrived midway through the half, and the Owls must’ve noticed his arrival because they went on a 13-4 run after he showed up.

“Much respect to Jimmy, for sure,” said Alijah Martin, who led FAU with 22 points. “When we saw him, we just tried to play our brand of basketball and not get carried away and do extra stuff. Just play FAU brand basketball.”

But the Shockers finished the half with a run of their own. Swarming defense kept the Owls at bay as they went scoreless for the last five minutes of the half, and Wichita State went on a 14-0 run, entering the locker room leading 42-31.

Balanced effort helps Owls post 14th win of season 

Four Owls cracked double digits in the comeback win. Martin, who scored 11 points in crunch time, was 8-of-12 overall, 4-of-6 from three, on the night. He also had nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Johnell Davis added 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Goldin finished with 17 points, nine rebounds (four of which were offensive boards), and four blocks.

“They’re obviously a very confident group, and justifiably so,” said FAU head coach Dusty May. “But I do think this group is still developing championship-level trust. … And there were several times when these guys covered for each other, especially in the second half. But we were quick to the ball, the rebounding became five guys fighting like crazy for every possession. And I don’t think that was necessarily the case in the first half, and when you’re shooting so poorly that’s just human nature.”

FAU snaps cold streak from behind arc to run away with lead

After going 4-of-20 from behind three-point land in the first 35 minutes, the Owls went on to hit 5-of-7 in the final seven minutes of the game. The flurry started with FAU down four points and didn’t end until the Owls held a 12-point lead.

Martin led the charge in clutch time and hit three triples in a row over a four-minute stretch.

“It feels good, just helping the team dig it out and come up with a win in a tough stretch," Martin said.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Alijah Martin's 22 points lead FAU Owls past Wichita State Shockers in AAC