Hinkle’s career-high 27 points help Eagles rise past Owls American 62, Florida Atlantic 56
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Facing a familiar surge of second half pressure in its first home game of the season, American bent but never broke under the strain, snapping a two-game road skid with a number of career individual performances that combined for the Eagles’ first victory of the year, 62-56, over Florida Atlantic.
Charles Hinkle, who continued his early-season scoring barrage for the Eagles (1-2), got the most important of his game- and career-high 27 points when he was barreled into his own bench by Pablo Bertone as he knocked down a three-pointer with 2:07 remaining in the game.
The sequence exemplified the follow-through that had been missing in American’s first two games, and Hinkle’s ensuing free throw completed a four-point play to give the Eagles a 53-45 lead and end a back-and-forth stretch in which the Owls (1-3) had closed to within four points on four consecutive possessions.
“To come out and play as hard as we did, there’s no question that we earned that victory through effort,” Eagles head coach Jeff Jones said. “A lot of different guys contributed in different ways. I’m real excited. I told the guys, ‘I’m not an easy guy to make happy,’ and I’m very pleased with their effort tonight, not just winning but how they went about doing it.”
With patient, if not exactly productive offense early, the Eagles dictated the pace against the weary Owls (1-3), who were unable to raise the tempo two days removed from playing their first three games of the year in Seattle.
American turned the ball over only once in the first half, limiting Florida Atlantic’s ability to get out in the open floor, and held the visitors to six first-half field goals.
The Owls managed only four 3-pointers after racking up 30 in their first three contests, and the Eagles broke away when Hinkle’s jumper got going, as he scored six points during a 11-0 run that ended with reserve guard Blake Jolivette’s three-pointer at the first-half buzzer for a 27-18 lead.
While center Tony Wroblicky clogged the lane, setting career highs in points (eight), blocks (seven) and steals (three), Jolivette stepped into back-to-back 12-footers at the elbow and on the baseline en route to a crucial career-high 14 points of his own to keep the visitors at bay.
Jones praised the sophomore center’s help defense and the junior guard’s patience.
“That was pretty much what I had to figure out these past two years,” Jolivette said. “When we went over to Europe [during the summer], I really found my stride within the offense.”
With Troy Brewer (five points, four turnovers) still struggling somewhat with his recovery from a turf toe injury suffered in American’s preseason game, Hinkle has gone from complementary option to the Eagles’ primary offensive weapon in his second season since transferring from Vanderbilt. Though his four-point play was the only one of his six 3-point attempts that he didn’t miss, Hinkle was a solid 12-for-14 at the line.
“I’ve just been blessed with the opportunity,” Hinkle said. “Last year, coming in, I was playing behind Vlad [Moldoveanu], and he’s a -great player, so I was just trying to find my spot in the rotation. This year, I’m just trying to take my opportunity and perform.”
