WICHITA, Kan. — Vladislav Goldin had 20 points and Brandon Weatherspoon scored 19 to lead No. 20 Florida Atlantic to a 95-82 overtime win against Wichita State on Sunday.
Florida Atlantic (19-5, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) dominated the overtime period, outscoring Wichita State 21-8. The Owls shot 47.2% for the game.
"We made two hustle plays to start and that set the tone in overtime," Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said. "Without a doubt the hustle plays helped give us the separation we needed."
Xavier Bell finished with 25 points off the bench for Wichita State (10-14, 2-9). Colby Rogers had 21 for his fifth straight double-figure game. The Shockers shot 50.8% from the field.
"I thought early in the game we were thinking pass way too much. We have to think shot quality,"Wichita State coach Paul Mills said. "ust knowing the nature of the defense you have to get quality looks. I thought Rogers did that and obviously Bell did a great job of it."
Bell hit a 3 with 42 seconds left in the second half to take a 73-72 lead. Late free throws for both teams sent the game to overtime tied at 74-74.
Florida Athletic went 0 for 6 from the floor to start the game, but managed to limit Wichita State to just nine points in that stretch. Weatherspoon was vital in getting the Owls some early momentum with eight points in the opening six minutes.
"I knew it was an early morning game and I am a big energy guy so I just tried to get the juices flowing," Weatherspoon said. "We just needed to stay positive, just working on getting stops and everything will be alright."
May said Weatherspoon "doesn't get a lot of accolades," but the team's success wouldn't be what it is without him.
"Obviously his stat line is easy to talk about today, but his impact goes so much beyond that," May said.
Turnovers plagued Wichita State and Florida Atlantic capitalized on it with 16 points off 17 Shocker turnovers. It was the 11th time the Shockers have had 14 or more turnovers this season.
FAU will host Temple on Thursday night.
