CHICAGO — Vladislav Goldin had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 9 Florida Atlantic beat Loyola Chicago 75-62 in the teams’ season opener on Wednesday night.

Nick Boyd scored 13, while Johnell Davis and Brandon Weatherspoon added 12 apiece. Boyd and Weatherspoon each hit three 3-pointers, and the balanced Owls showed why they have their sights on the NCAA championship coming off a surprising run to the Final Four. With all five starters back and only one player gone from a team that went 35-4 and got knocked out by San Diego State in the semis on a buzzer-beating jumper, FAU is off to a good start.

The Owls went on a 17-2 run in the first half to break open a two-point game. They withstood several pushes in the second half by Loyola — no stranger to surprising Final Four runs — and opened their sixth season under coach Dusty May on a winning note.

"Last year was a special season, but as a coach, as a program, and as a group of players chasing their individual goals and dreams, it was nice to just move on to the next chapter and see what this team can become," May said. "We are not a finished product, we are going to take a lot of pride in growing and developing and becoming even more of a cohesive unit over the next four or five months."

Goldin, whose 19 points tied his career high, echoed his coach.

"The goal is always the same: win as many games as we can. It doesn't matter if it is the first game or the last game of the season. Just keep focusing on what is important and what is not important … new team, new season, new chapter."

Philip Alston led the Ramblers with 15 points. Loyola’s Sister Jean was on hand for the game, which was part of a doubleheader sponsored by Barstool Sports, with Mississippi State beating Arizona State 71-56 in the late game. The beloved 104-year-old nun had to like what she was seeing when Alston scored in the paint to cut it to 24-22.

Weatherspoon quickly quieted the crowd at Chicago's Wintrust Arena — about 10 miles south of Loyola’s home on the far north side — when he nailed a 3 to start a 17-2 run. Bryan Greenlee finished it with a layup that bumped the lead to 41-24 with 1:47 remaining in the half.

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FAU led by 18 early in the second before Loyola scored 11 straight, pulling within 50-43 on a corner 3 by Patrick Mwamba. But FAU regrouped.

It was 56-48 when Goldin scored on a hook. Boyd scored on a fast-break layup, Weatherspoon hit a free throw and Jalen Gaffney hit a jumper to bump the lead to 63-48 with just under eight minutes remaining.

The Owls are as deep and balanced as any team, and they answered every time Loyola made a push.

FAU will look to go 2-0 when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU Owls beat Loyola Chicago to open 2023-24 college basketball season