| BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team scorched the nets in the second half in giving head coach Dusty May his 50th career victory, 98-79 over North Dakota on the second day of The Paradise Classic, Saturday at Abessinio Court inside FAU Arena. Quotable Head Coach Dusty May: “Very proud of the way we finished the first half, and carried over the momentum into the second half. We shared the ball, 21 assists and six turnovers, that’s something we’ve been striving to do as a group for several months: to share the ball, to get great off-ball movement and then obviously when the ball goes in, everything looks better.”  The Beginning The first half was bookended by big runs: The Owls (3-2) scored the game’s first seven, and the Fighting Hawks (2-2) responded with the next eight. Then, at the end of the frame, after UND took their biggest lead of five at 38-33 with just over three minutes left, FAU closed out with a 12-4 edge – including seven of the last nine in the final 49 seconds – for a 45-42 halftime lead. The Turning Point Momentum followed the Owls out of the locker room, in the form of a 15-2 run, including two 3-pointers by Michael Forrest, one apiece from Bryan Greenlee and Alijah Martin, and a thunderous dunk from Vladislav Goldin. All told, combining the first half, it was a 27-6 FAU stretch that ballooned the lead to 16 (60-44). The Finish For the final 16:46, the lead never got below double digits, and reached as high as 19 on another rim-rattling slam from Goldin (78-59, 7:27), and then that same mark again at the buzzer. Owl the Stats Forrest led five Owls with 10 or more, scoring 24 on 8-of-11 shooting, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also had three assists and did not commit a turnover Bryan Greenlee was next with a season-high 14 and was efficient like his backcourt mate, at 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 on 3’s Everett Winchester stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points and team highs of seven rebounds and six assists, against just one turnover Also with a season high in points was Giancarlo Rosado with 11, and Alijah Martin was the fifth in double digits, with an even 10The second half saw FAU shoot 60.6% from the field and 61.5% from 3-point range (with overall percentages of 54.7% and 55.6%)While the team made a season-high 15 3’s, the interior was also exceptional, outscoring North Dakota in the paint, 38-20As Coach May mentioned, the team had 21 assists against just six turnovers, and those 21 helpers came on 35 made field goals All 11 Owls that saw the floor made their way into the scoring column What’s Next After a day off from game play tomorrow, the Owls wrap up The Paradise Classic Monday night at 7 p.m. against Troy. For tickets, click HERE or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS. Follow the Owls For the most up-to-date information on the squad, follow along on Twitter (@FAUMBB), Instagram (@FAUMBB) and Facebook (FAU Men’s Basketball). |
