Nov. 26 – Vladislav Goldin scores 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting and 19th-ranked Florida Atlantic defeats Virginia Tech 84-50 on Sunday afternoon at the ESPN Event Invitational Championship. He made a suffocating defense with three high blocks. Game in Kissimmee, Florida.
The Owls (5-1) also had a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds from Aliyah Martin, who made 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Martin was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Goldin and Jonelle Davis, who had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Owls on Sunday, also had great performances in the contest.
Virginia Tech (5 wins, 2 losses) saw its winning streak end at four. The Hokies are usually a good shooting team, but they missed their first 15 3-pointers.
Hokies guard Hunter Kattore, an Orlando native who essentially returned to his hometown, scored 11 points, but was 0-for-8 from 3-point range. He entered Sunday as a career 42.1 percent 3-point shooter, including 45.8 percent this season.
Teammate Sean Pedulla tied Cattoa with 11 points, but was 0-of-4 from deep. He started the season by shooting 46.2 percent into Sunday’s game.
The Owls led 32-24 at halftime as the Hokies missed all eight of their 3-point attempts. Through the first 20 minutes, the Owls shot 48.1 percent from the floor while holding the Hokies to 35.7 percent.
Goldin, a 7-foot-1 center, was impressive in the first half with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, two rebounds and two blocks. His one of his buckets was a very athletic finish on the Owls’ fast break.
The Owls went on a 15-0 run midway through the second half to decide the game.
For the game, Florida Atlantic shot 56.9 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent (9 of 22) from 3-point range.
Virginia Tech shot 33.3 percent from the floor, including 11.8 percent (2 of 17) from 3-point range.
The Owls also had a 40-29 advantage in rebounds.
–Field level media
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