MENS BASKETBALL
Florida Atlantic 75, Loyola Chicago 62
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
Associated Press
CHICAGO - Vladislav Goldin had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 10 Florida Atlantic beat Loyola Chicago 75-62 in the teams’ season opener.
Nick Boyd scored 13, while Johnell Davis and Brandon Weatherspoon added 12 apiece. Boyd and Weatherspoon each hit three 3-pointers, and the balanced Owls showed why they have their sights on the NCAA championship coming off a surprising run to the Final Four. With all five starters back and only one player gone from a team that went 35-4 and got knocked out by San Diego State in the semis on a buzzer-beating jumper, FAU is off to a good start.
The Owls went on a 17-2 run in the first half to break open a two-point game. They withstood several pushes in the second half by Loyola - no stranger to surprising Final Four runs - and opened their sixth season under coach Dusty May on a winning note.
Philip Alston led the Ramblers with 15 points.
Loyola's Sister Jean was on hand for the game, which was part of a doubleheader sponsored by Barstool Sports, with Arizona State playing Mississippi State later. The beloved 104-year-old nun had to like what she was seeing when Alston scored in the paint to cut it to 24-22.
Weatherspoon quickly quieted the crowd at Wintrust Arena - about 10 miles south of Loyola's home on the Far North Side - when he nailed a 3 to start a 17-2 run. Bryan Greenlee finished it with a layup that bumped the lead to 41-24 with 1:47 remaining in the half.
FAU led by 18 early in the second before Loyola scored 11 straight, pulling within 50-43 on a corner 3 by Patrick Mwamba. But FAU regrouped.
It was 56-48 when Goldin scored on a hook. Boyd scored on a fastbreak layup, Weatherspoon hit a free throw and Jalen Gaffney hit a jumper to bump the lead to 63-48 with just under eight minutes remaining.
BIG PICTURE
FAU: The Owls are as deep and balanced as any team, and they answered every time Loyola made a push.
Loyola: The Ramblers at least put up a fight against a championship contender. That's promising for a team that went 10-21 last season.
November 8, 2023
| Florida Atlantic | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| V. Goldin | F | 22 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 0-0 | 4-10 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 |
| B. Greenlee | G | 31 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| N. Boyd | G | 27 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| J. Davis | G | 24 | 5-13 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| B. Weatherspoon | G | 24 | 4-5 | 1-2 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| A. Martin | 25 | 1-8 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 0-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| J. Gaffney | 23 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| G. Rosado | 15 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| B. Lorient | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Totals | 198 | 26-56 (.464) |
15-21 (.714) |
8-23 (.348) |
9-33 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 19 | 75 | |
| Loyola Chicago | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| P. Alston | F | 32 | 4-12 | 6-8 | 1-3 | 2-6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| M. Rubin | C | 15 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| B. Norris | G | 35 | 2-5 | 4-4 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| D. Watson | G | 26 | 3-8 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| G. Dolan | G | 21 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| J. Quinn | 17 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| P. Mwamba | 15 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 1-4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| D. Adelekun | 13 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| T. Welch | 11 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| J. Dawson | 9 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| S. Edwards | 2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| T. Lewis | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| B. Schwieger | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 198 | 22-51 (.431) |
12-19 (.632) |
6-17 (.353) |
8-31 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 62 | |
