No. 23 FAU rallies past upset-minded Wichita State

Alijah Martin scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Florida Atlantic overcame double-digit deficits in both halves and the No. 23 Owls rallied past Wichita State 86-77 on Thursday night in Boca Raton, Fla.

Martin, who made all six shots in the second half, went 8-for-12 overall (4-of-6 from long range) and added nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.

A 15-point favorite, FAU (14-4, 4-1 American) got 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Johnell Davis. Vladislav Goldin totaled 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Tre Carroll had 10 points and four boards.

Colby Rogers and Quincy Ballard tallied 18 points apiece for the Shockers (8-9, 0-4), who lost their sixth straight game and the eighth in their past nine outings.

Wichita State lost despite outshooting Memphis 56.4 percent to 47 percent from the field.

After surrendering 112 points in Sunday's home loss to No. 13 Memphis, the Shockers started out on a 7-0 run less than two minutes in, getting field goals from Harlond Beverly and Ballard plus the first of three first-half 3-pointers by Rogers.

They grew the advantage to 17-4 on a short bank shot by Isaac Abidde at 14:23, but that bucket seemed to awaken coach Dusty May's Owls, who got a boost off the bench from Carroll.

Carroll tallied eight points during a 22-7 run as FAU finally grabbed its first lead on a transition layup by Nick Boyd with 7:31 remaining the first half.

However, the visitors showed serious pushback to close out the half, running out on a 14-0 stretch over the last 5:40 to rebuild their double-digit lead when Bijan Cortes made it 42-31 at the break.

Rogers and Ballard, a Florida State transfer, each scored 10 points as Wichita State shot 58.1 percent (18-of-31) and was 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from long range.

Carroll's eight led FAU, which went a dismal 12-for-33 (36.4 percent) and was outrebounded 20-15.

In the second half, the Owls slowly sliced into the deficit, eventually cutting it to 62-60 on two free throws by Goldin at 9:21. Martin and Boyd hit back-to-back treys to push FAU back in front 66-64 with 6:19 left.

Ballard dunked to tie the game, but Martin knocked down two more 3-pointers to launch a 19-7 run on the way to the Owls' seventh win in eight home games.