MIAMI (FAUSports.com) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team secured a fourth-straight winning season with a 71-51 victory over FIU Thursday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. It’s the first time in FAU history that the Owls have put together four straight seasons above .500.
Thursday’s win clinched a winning season in Conference USA action as well, which is also a first for the FAU program.
On the court, FAU heated up in the second half to pull away for the 20-point victory. The Owls struggled offensively in a first half that included 12 turnovers. Despite the offensive woes, FAU managed to take a 22-21 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The second half was a much different story. The Owls hit seven of their 10 3-point field goals in the second half, including four from Michael Forrest. With FAU leading 29-26 early in the second half, Giancarlo Rosado scored a second-chance bucket, sparking a 12-0 run that included 3-pointers from Forrest and Brandon Weatherspoon. That spurt left the Owls with a 15-point lead and FIU never got closer than 12 for the remainder of the contest.
“It was a tale of two halves,” May said. “I thought our defense was really solid. Credit to our guys in the second half, we got some more ball reversals and paint touches that led to kickouts. Overall, we just got really solid contributions from all our guys on the offensive end in the second half.”
The Owls pushed the lead to 20 with seven minutes remaining on a Bitumba Baruti basket and the Owls cruised from there.
Alijah Martin scored 13 points to tie for game-high scoring honors with FIU’s Clevon Brown. Forrest added 12 on his four second-half 3-pointers and Bryan Greenlee added 10. Vlad Goldin pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to help FAU to a 41-26 advantage in rebounding. The Owls held a 12-7 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 13-4 edge in second-chance points for the Owls.
FAU held a 28-18 advantage in points in the paint and the Owls’ bench outscored the Panthers’ reserves 26-13.
The Owls wrap up the regular season Saturday at home vs. FIU. Seniors Bitumba Baruti, Brant Ulmer and Everett Winchester will be honored prior to the contest. Tipoff vs. the Panthers is slated for 2 p.m. in Miami.
