March Madness: Florida Atlantic advances to AAC semifinals with win over North Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas — It will be a meeting of the Owls in the American Athletic Conference Championship Tournament semifinals.
Florida Atlantic (25-7) meets Temple (15-19) Saturday at 5 p.m., with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship game. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Second-seeded FAU defeated seventh-seeded North Texas, 77-71, on Friday night. Temple, seeded 11th in the tournament but winner of seven of its last 10 games, knocked off Charlotte on Friday. Top-seeded South Florida and fourth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham meet in today's other AAC semifinal at 3 p.m.
Junior center Vlad Goldin remained hot with a 21-point, 10 rebound night. Junior guards Johnell Davis (18 points) and Alijah Martin (15) and sophomore guard Nick Boyd (12) also scored in double figures. Goldin has scored 20-plus points in seven of his last nine games and recorded a double-double in two straight.
"We (have) faced a lot of tough teams and everybody was gunning for us and wanted our name," Boyd said. "So this whole year we [have] just been fighting and fighting and we just stayed together and it's just another game where we just stayed poised, believed in each other, and get a big win as a team."
FAU coach Dusty May said his players have entered postseason play with confidence after a regular season that saw its share of bumps.
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"They expect to win, but they don't expect it just to happen," May said. "They go earn it and I thought down the stretch the last five minutes the 50/50 basketballs, the rim protection, our grittiness really pulled us through and allowed to us get a few baskets in transition. It came down to these guys making plays, big-time rebounds, big-time shots, great screens. I thought our screens were as good as they have been this year down the stretch. So very proud, but in any tournament format, it's on to the next."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU to face Temple in battle of the Owls in AAC tournament semifinals
