Men’s Basketball Downs Holy Cross 87-69

Friday, November 29

Boca Raton, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

3-3

Holy Cross

0-6

Holy Cross

Florida Atlantic

11/29/2019 11:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A trio of players in double figures helped the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team to an 87-69 win over Holy Cross on Friday night. The Owls' record improved to 3-3 with the victory.

The Start
Freshman Kenan Blackshear converted a three-point play off of the opening tip to give FAU a quick 3-0 lead. That energized the Owls, playing for the first time in nine days, as they got out to a 19-10 advantage 10 minutes into the game.

The Turning Point
Holy Cross (0-6) trimmed its deficit to five before Cornelius Taylor hit back-to-back three-pointers, followed by Michael Forrest making one of his own to help extend FAU's cushion to 12, 28-16, with 6:30 left in the first half. Another flurry from behind the arc, capped by Taylor making one just before the buzzer, gave the Owls a 41-21 lead at the break.

The Finish
A Taylor jumper pushed FAU ahead 51-28 at the 16:37 mark of the second half. The Crusaders responded with a 15-4 run to pull within 12, 55-43, with 11 minutes remaining in the contest. They would get no closer, as the Owls withstood the attempted comeback and a pair of Madiaw Niang triples gave FAU a 71-52 cushion. Holy Cross never seriously threatened again.

Notables

Cornelius Taylor scored 15 points to lead FAU and tied for the team-high with six rebounds
Taylor became the first Owl this season to repeat as the team's leading scorer. FAU entered Friday's game having had five different leading scorers through five games
Richardson Maitre tallied 13 points and nabbed three steals
Michael Forrest posted 13 points, five rebounds and two assists. Forrest also made all four of his three-point attempts
Kenan Blackshear scored nine points, had three rebounds, all of them coming on the offensive end and dished out two assists. Blackshear was able to convert two three-point play opportunities
Madiaw Niang registered eight points and six boards
10 FAU players scored on the night, the fifth time this season that at least that many Owls have put points on the board
As a team, the Owls shot 11-of-22 from behind the arc. The 11 makes is tied for the most FAU has made in a game this year
Defensively, FAU held Holy Cross to 69 points, the fewest the Owls have given up all year

Quotable

FAU Head Coach Dusty May
"I thought we took good looks, we shared the ball, we drove, we kicked…we played more under control. I'm proud of the way we responded to that run (Holy Cross) made."

What's Next

The Owls continue action in the Boca Raton Beach Classic on Sunday, Dec. 1 when they take on UIC. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Live video and live stats will be available at fausports.com. The game can be heard on FOX Sports 640AM. Live updates will be posted to the team's official Twitter account, @FAU_Hoops.