CHARLOTTE – The 2022-23 season for the No. 19/20 Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team has been one of many broken records. On Saturday, the Owls broke another record by setting the school’s single season wins mark at 22. The Owls, who are ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll, used a massive second half to clinch a 67-52 win over Charlotte. After trailing 31-30 at the half, the Owls used a dominant 37-21 second half to seal their 22nd win of the season.
In addition to the wins record, Michael Forrest became FAU’s all-time leading 3-point shooter. Forrest recorded two 3-pointers today to reach 288 on his career and pass Greg Gantt for the top spot in school history. Additionally, Forrest is fourth place in FAU history in scoring with 1,511 points, which is 10 points behind Paul Graham III for third place.
QUOTES FROM COACH MAY
“What a complete team effort once again,” FAU head coach Dusty May said. “I thought our defensive energy, our physicality and our attention to detail were probably as good as we’ve had. Vlad (Goldin) not being in foul trouble allowed us to stay in our rotation. For him to anchor our defense is big, he does a lot for us. I thought (Jalen) Gaffney brought a different level of toughness in the second half, BJ (Greenlee) after spraining his ankle last game came in and did great things, Alijah (Martin) and Spoon (Brandon Weatherspoon) were physical, aggressive and elite defensively, Johnell (Davis) did what he always does, and Mike (Forrest) breaking the 3-point record, I just can’t say enough about our team.”
STATS & NOTES
- The Owls held a slim 38-35 lead with 13:15 to play, but handed it to the 49ers the rest of the game with a 23-6 stretch to grab a 61-41 advantage with 3:12 left
- The Owls stifled the 49ers and held Charlotte to only 12 points in the first 18 minutes of the second half. FAU limited Charlotte to just 31.2% shooting from the floor and 27.3% shooting from 3-point range in the second half
- Vladislav Goldin had an exceptional night for the Owls, scoring 15 points and shooting an efficient 6-of-7 from the floor. Goldin also led the Owls in rebounds with six
- Alijah Martin made his first start since Nov. 19 and scored 13 points while grabbing six rebounds. Martin also shot 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range
- Brandon Weatherspoon scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting
- Johnell Davis chipped in eight points off the bench and shot 4-of-6 from the field
- The Owls were over 50% shooting as a team from the floor (26-of-47, 55.3%) and over 40% from 3-point range (9-of-20, 45%)
NEXT UP
The Owls will return to Paradise for a two-game home stand against Rice on Feb. 9 and Louisiana Tech on Feb. 11.
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