BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 19/20 Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team’s historic 20-game winning streak finally came to an end. The Owls were defeated by UAB by an 86-77 tally, for FAU’s first defeat in 83 days, which came in the second game of the season against Ole Miss on Nov. 11. FAU now stands at 21-2 on the season including 11-1 in Conference USA play.
The winning streak was the longest in the nation this season and doubled up FAU’s longest in school history. The 21-1 start to the season also shattered the previous best FAU start of 11-1. The 20-game winning streak also tied for the third-longest streak in Conference USA history, tied with Cincinnati in the 2001-02 season.
After the Blazers took a 43-30 lead into the locker room, the Owls battled back instantly in the second half with a 12-2 run, capped off by an up-and-under lay-up from Jalen Gaffney on the fast break then a strong take from Bryan Greenlee. The Owls’ smallest deficit the rest of the way was four points, as the Blazers took control down the stretch and were able to keep the Owls at bay, limiting FAU to just 8-of-36 shooting from beyond the arc.
POSTGAME QUOTES FROM COACH MAY
“Hats off to UAB, they played determined basketball, they made some physical plays around the rim, and we couldn’t get the shots to drop when we did get in close,” said FAU head coach Dusty May. “We’re happy with only six turnovers against their 1-3-1 zone, we weren’t able to run our stuff, but they had us out of our rhythm a little bit. Their size, length and physicality had a lot to do with that as well. You put a team on the line 31 times and get out-rebounded 45-37, this is probably going to be the end result.”
STATS & NOTES
- Nick Boyd led the way for the Owls with a career-high 18 points. Boyd also added seven rebounds and knocked in four 3-pointers
- Johnell Davis tallied 17 points and eight rebounds
- Vladislav Goldin recorded 3 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and three dunks
- Alijah Martin pitched in nine points and three rebounds
- Michael Forrest scored four points to surpass 1,500 on his career and move into fourth-place all-time in FAU history in scoring. Forrest surpassed Jeff Cowans for fifth place all-time and now has 1,503 career points. He is also one 3-pointer shy of tying the school’s all-time record of 287, which is held by Greg Gantt
NEXT UP
The Owls will continue their road trip and head to Charlotte to play on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip time against the 49ers is 4 p.m.
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