Three Tulsa turnovers and three touchdowns by Easton Messer, led Florida Atlantic to a 40-21 win over the Golden Hurricane Saturday at Schellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium, in Boca Raton, Fla.

It was the third time this season the Owls have scored 40 points at home, lifting their record to 4-5, 3-3 AAC, while Tulsa dropped to 2-7, 0-6 AAC.

“The biggest positives for me coming out of this game was that we were able to create some turnovers on defense, which was something we’ve been lacking,” said FAU head coach Zach Kittley.

FAU jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, which began with Tulsa’s Baylor Hayes throwing a pass on the second play of the game that was intercepted by Terez Reid at the Tulsa 49-yard line, giving the Owls great field position to begin their first drive. Garrison Smith finished the drive with a 35-yard field goal, giving Florida Atlantic an early 3-0 lead.

The Owls scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, including a Tulsa fumble recovered by Damarius McGhee who returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, and FAU led 31-6 at halftime.

“That was huge and clearly when you can get a defensive score that can swing the game, and that was a huge momentum swing for us, so a great job there by D. McGhee getting that done,” Kittley said.

Tulsa showed signs of life in the third quarter by scoring a couple touchdowns and bringing the score to within 16 points, 34-18. Adding a field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Golden Hurricane moved to within 13 points of the Owls, 34-21, but the FAU tagged on one more touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

For Tulsa, Ajay Allen had a career-day as he set new career-highs in every offensive category. Allen led Tulsa in rushing with 118 yards and scoring one touchdown on 23 carries while also catching seven passes for 67 yards, all of which were career-bests.

Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes completed 24-of-46 passes for 235 yards, though he was intercepted twice. His 46 pass attempts is a career high. Hayes also added a rushing touchdown on 19 carries for 47 yards. The 47 rushing yards for Hayes were a career high.

Kicker Seth Morgan was perfect on the day, converting all three field goal attempts, including one from 49 yards.

Leading the way for FAU was Messer with six receptions for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Jayshon Platt had five catches for 114 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Kaden Veltkamp completed 21-of-29 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

Tulsa hosts Oregon State on Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.