The last time the Owls of Florida Atlantic played in this building, they defeated the Kansas State Wildcats to punch their ticket to Houston and the Final Four.
They went into this – the first match of the Jimmy V Classic – hoping their good history would continue at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, even though it was Cinderellas from last March, the clock had long ago struck midnight and the Owls lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini 98-89.
The Illini were led by two phenomenal performances from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask, who combined for 66 points.
Florida Atlantic was led by Final Four heroes Vladislav Goldin – who fouled out with 23 points – and guarded by Johnell Davis with his 19 points.
Terrence Shannon Jr. had a dominant night leading Illinois to unrest across the Atlantic in Florida
Each team came in with just one blemish on their record; that of the FAU was admittedly the larger place than the others. Illinois lost by seven points to a very strong Marquette team that was in the top five, while the guys from Champaign were not at all. But FAU suffered an 11-point disgrace at home against lowly Bryant University of Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Illinois is a strong program in a much better conference than their counterparts. Junior Terrence Shannon Jr. came into the game leading the team in points (20) and assists (2.9) per game. They are by far the more experienced team in terms of years of play, starting with two seniors and two graduate students.
That said, Florida Atlantic was still expected to be the better team. Their top points and minute-makers were the ones that helped the Owls to a shocking Final Four appearance – with players like Alijah Martin, Johnell Davis and Vladislav Goldin returning to help the team in its inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference.
A flurry of buckets early in the game made it 5-2 in FAU's favor before both teams went into lengthy droughts. By the time a media timeout was taken at 2:55, Illinois had not scored in 4:40, while FAU had not hit a bucket in 3:42.
The Illini solved their problem right away in the timeout, with Luke Goode knocking down a three to tie the game. A foul on Giancarlo Rosado made it a 7-5 game as FAU snapped their scoreless streak that lasted almost as long as their counterparts. The scoring came a little easier after the short break, with both three-pointers and layups being knocked down, making it 11-10 with Illinois in favor.
No player seemed to take over for the two teams as we reached the 10 minute mark of the first half. Shannon put together a 4/1/1 slashline, while Goldin knocked down a three and threw down an emphatic dunk to reach 14-13 Owls, retaking the lead.
The first play under ten minutes was a fastbreak for Florida Atlantic. Johnell Davis tried to set up Goldin with a lob, but threw it too high and too late. Davis caught the rebound of his own lob to make it 18-13.
It was at this point that the competition became a jumper's fest. By the time the under-8 media timeout was reached, Marcus Domask and Justin Harmon were knocking down shots for the Illini and Bryan Greenlee joined Goldin in testing his range. It was 23-20 FAU.
Marcus Domask (3) had a dominant night, hitting 15 of 21 shots for 33 points at the Garden
A slow start to the match saw both teams handle the ball carelessly before things got going
Coleman Hawkins scored two straight layups coming out of the break to take an Illinois lead 24-23. The Illini started to pull away, hitting five of five shots to take a four-point lead. A tre' from big man Tre Carroll made it a one-point game, then ran up the floor, drew a foul and tacked on two free throws to make it 30-29. A Domask jumper put the Illini back ahead by one point during the under-4 media timeout.
The lead was changed again with a pair of free throws from Davis, putting FAU back up by one. Davis extended that again with a quick triple to go up by four. The momentum wasn't on FAU's side for long as Shannon went coast to coast and then finished at the rim with an emphatic slam. Carroll hit a three and went back to five before Illinois' Amani Hansberry finished a layup. Domask threw in a layup to make it a one-point margin again.
The final minute ended with a series of layups as both teams headed to the locker room with Florida Atlantic ahead 42-39. Illinois knocked down their shots much better in the first half (61 percent) than the Owls (47 percent), but FAU had a significant three-point conversion advantage (50 percent) over the Fighting Illini (29 percent). .
Goldin caught a pass just below the basket and went strong for the first bucket of the second half. Domask returned the favor with a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game. Goldin continued to pose a threat under the basket and drew an early double-team. The big Russian passed the ball to Davis, who knocked down a three to maintain the two-possession lead.
But Goldin was in trouble early and got his third before 4:30 of the second half. He was fouled out and the Illini took advantage. Domask – who had been exceptional all night – hit another mid-range jumper to regain the lead for Illinois at 50-49 at the media timeout.
After the under-16 timeout in the second half, Shannon drove to the basket and made her way to an And-1. Illinois could take advantage of the paint freely with big men like Goldin and Lorient out of the game. But even then, Shannon was free to shoot from distance – he knocked down a tre' to go up 56-49 with less than 15 minutes to go.
Alijah Martin – who had been unusually quiet all night – drove to the basket and was fouled on his way up. He knocked down both shots from the charity stripe. FAU got a rebound and drove up the court, kicking the ball to Jalen Gaffney, who made a three-pointer. Once again the lead tilted. 57-56 FAU.
Back to Illinois as Domask converted an And-1 on a layup to go up two. Justin Harmon extended it to 62-57 with a tre'. A three-play attempt by Bryan Greenlee led to a rebound for Illinois' Dain Dainja, who was unaffected by the outsized Owl he easily grabbed the board over. Shannon nailed another layup to move up 64-69 to under 12. At that point, Illinois had converted eight of their last 10 shots and were a force under the basket.
Although players like Coleman Hawkins (33) were in big trouble, FAU could not take advantage of that
FAU coach Dusty May knew this and brought in the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Carroll. He was able to create space under the basket and took advantage back in the paint. He knocked down a layup and then picked up an assist to pull back to 68-63. By the time Goldin came back in, Illinois was up 70-63 – quickly expanding the lead to a nine-point lead and 72-63 after Shannon made a layup.
With half of the second half over, Florida Atlantic was out in full force, trying to gain some sort of advantage. They managed to give Goldin an And-1, but after a defensive rebound the Russian failed to score.
Johnell Davis knocked down a critical three-pointer around the seven and a half minute mark to bring the game within five points. Domask returned the favor and made it 79-71. Around the six-minute mark there was a frantic battle for the ball after an Illinois player was stopped dead and lost his dribble. The ball found its way to Shannon, who nailed an uncontested three as the shot clock expired. Nylon. 82-73 Illinois.
But Illinois began to get into big trouble of its own. Big man Coleman Hawkins committed four fouls with 5:14 to go, while both Domask and Guerrier committed three fouls. Hawkins got his fourth while defending a Goldin shot. The Russian scored the And-1 to make it 82-77 with 5:00 to go.
Domask would not be denied, however, hitting a layup to make it 84-79. The next trip down the field, Martin hit the layup and was fouled. He set up And-1's free throw to make it a four-point game.
Vladislav Goldin (50) was clearly one of FAU's best players, but he was fouled after foul late in the night
FAU came close to making it a one-point game after stealing Quincy Guerrier's pass, but Martin's three-pointer didn't fall. Domask hit a runner to make it 86-80. At the under-4 media timeout, Illinois' Justin Harmon had picked up his fourth foul of the night, sending the Owls into the double bonus. Gaffney hit his two earned free throws to make it 86-82.
The court went to Illinois before Goldin came up with a clutch block. The 7-footer then hit a hook shot to make it 86-84 with less than three minutes remaining. The few Owls fans gathered started making quite a bit of noise before the 6-foot-2 Hawkins of Illinois nailed an unguarded triple. Illinois led 89-84 with 2:44 left.
Coming out of a timeout, Martin finally started to get into the groove and hit a triple to make it a two-point game. Domask attempted a shot on the ensuing trip upfield but missed. A rebound cleared by Hawkins put him on the line for two foul shots. 91-87. Florida Atlantic went inside to Goldin, leading to a shooting foul. He missed both shots from the charity stripe. Illinois was fouled under their basket, making it 93-87. Goldin tried to attack Hawkins down low and managed a layup to make it 93-89 before Dusty May called a timeout with 1:19 remaining.
After Shannon made two foul shots to make it a six-point lead, FAU went up the floor and Goldin missed a layup. Out of frustration, he reached the next possession and committed a foul, giving Illinois the double bonus. Shannon hit both. 97-89. He hit the first pass after another error and after a steal that was enough to ice the game and allow the Illini to move to a 7-1 record.
Domask finished the night with a remarkable 33 points on 15-for-21 shooting. Shannon only managed a 10-14 line, but his eleven free throws were crucial to a victory for Brad Underwood's men.