| BOCA RATON – The FAU men’s basketball team outscored Charlotte 16-3 in overtime to take a 13-point victory in Conference USA action Friday night at FAU Arena. The Owls picked up the victory without head coach Dusty May on the bench. He will miss this weekend’s series after contact tracing due to a positive Covid-19 test within his family. Akeem Miskdeen led FAU to the victory as acting head coach. The Owls overcame their worst offensive half of the season to take a second-half lead, before Charlotte forced overtime. FAU controlled the tip to begin overtime … and controlled the entire extra session. Bryan Greenlee buried a 3-pointer from the corner off the dish from Karlis Silins. Following a defensive stop, Silins was the beneficiary of an assist from Jailyn Ingram for a massive dunk and the Owls had all the momentum. Another Greenlee 3-pointer pushed the advantage to 10 points and FAU cruised for the final two minutes of overtime. Charlotte held FAU to just 28.6 percent shooting in the first half en route to a 27-18 lead for the 49ers at halftime. But the Owls rebounded in the second half. Six minutes into the second period, Charlotte held an 11-point lead. But freshman Nicholas Boyd hit a 3-pointer to finally help loosen up the FAU offense. Two minutes later, Jailyn Ingram scored from long range and the Owls were within five. It was Michael Forrest who really came alive at that point. FAU still trailed by five with eight minutes to go in the contest. Forrest connected on a triple to pull the Owls within two at the seven-minute mark. One minute later, he buried another one in transition and FAU led for the first time in the contest. The Owls built a seven-point advantage with less than five minutes to go with what ended up being a 16-0 run. But Charlotte battled back. Eventually, Jahmir Young hit a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining to tie the score at 50-50. FAU had an opportunity to win the game in regulation. But Silins 3-pointer from the right wing bounced off the back iron. Forrest scored a team-high 21 points, with all of his points coming after halftime. It was the second consecutive outing of 20-plus points for Forrest, who tallied 27 last Saturday vs. FIU. The junior was 5-of-11 from 3-point range in the contest. Greenlee also reached double figures with 12, including two important 3-pointers in overtime. Silins rounded out the Owls’ double-figure scorers with 10. Everett Winchester had another big night on the boards, pulling down nine rebounds. Young scored a game-high 22 to lead Charlotte. The 49ers (6-7, 2-3 CUSA) and Owls (8-6, 3-2 CUSA) will tip it off again at 4 p.m. Saturday at The Burrow. Quoting Coach Miskdeen Acting Head Coach Akeem Miskdeen On Taking Over In Coach May’s Absence: “We did a Zoom meeting with (Coach May). He talked about what we should do. He said he trusted us. We’re really close on and off the court, we finish each other’s sentences, so I was just pretending to be Dusty May out there.”. |
