Owls Notch Largest Margin of Victory of the Season

Sunday, December 5

Boca Raton, Fla.

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

North Florida

12/5/2021 4:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team capped off a 2-0 week at home by defeating North Florida, 76-41, Sunday afternoon on Abessinio Court inside FAU Arena.

Quotable

Head Coach Dusty May:
"We were very proud of our effort on both sides of the ball. I think it was the hardest we've played, the most competitive we've been for 40 minutes. Offensively, we turned it over too much, but I thought a lot of the turnovers were in a good place mentally, where we were maybe overpassing or looking for our teammates, so those are kinks that we'll get worked out. But very proud of our effort today."

The Beginning

Though the Owls (5-4) led 9-2 and 12-4 to start, UNF (2-8) tied it up at 14-14, and with 11:19 to go, it was a one-point game. Over the next 5:40, FAU stormed ahead with a 16-2 run. Six different Owls tallied points in the stretch, including Michael Forrest, whose jumper at the 6:30 mark gave him career points 1,000 and 1,001. An Alijah Martin 3-pointer capped the offensive onslaught, to the tune of a 33-18 lead.

The Turning Point

The Ospreys countered with 11 straight of their own, finally snapped by a Bryan Greenlee scoop shot with 1:16 left. Madiaw Niang followed with a driving bank shot, and Giancarlo Rosado beat the buzzer with a layup for the final six points of the period and a 39-29 halftime lead. FAU also scored the first nine points out of the break, for the game's largest lead. All told, the 11-point UNF run was offset by 15 straight for the Owls.

The Finish

The Ospreys didn't record a point after their 11-0 run until 13:28 to go in the second, a total scoreless stretch of 9:04 of gametime. A three-point play at that point by UNF cut the deficit to 16, the closest it would be. A late 8-0 run pushed the FAU advantage to 29, largest of the season for the Owls (an edge that would end up being as much as 35, at the final horn).

Owl the Stats

Bryan Greenlee was 6-of-9 from the field towards a team-high 14
Forrest was next with 13, and matched his career high with six assists
Martin and Rosado each scored eight
Greenlee and Batumba Baruti tied for the high with six boards, one more than Vladislav Goldin and Everett Winchester, each with five
It was a 40-26 total rebounding edge for FAU
Twelve of the 13 Owls that saw the floor scored, and combined for a 53.6% field goal percentage (56% in the second half alone). In the paint, it was a 38-14 advantage, it was 21-11 off turnovers, 13-4 second chance, 11-2 on fast break, and 33-21 in bench scoring
Forrest not only made his way onto the 1,000-point club, he surpassed Mike Bell for 13th place as well:

1	Greg	Gantt	(2009-13)	1,972
2	Earnest	Crumbley	(2000-04)	1,559
3	Paul	Graham III	(2005-09)	1,521
4	Craig	Buchanan	(1993-97)	1,501
5	Jeff	Cowans	(2000-04)	1,388
6	Jailyn	Ingram	(2016-21)	1,334
7	Carlos	Monroe	(2005-09)	1,316
8	Damon	Arnette	(1996-99)	1,246
9	Pablo	Bertone	(2010-14)	1,153
10	Raymond	Taylor	(2009-12)	1,037
11	Marquan	Botley	(2013-16)	1,018
12	Shavar	Richardson	(2008-11)	1,018
13	*Michael*	*Forrest*	*(2018-Pres.)*	*1,006*
14	Mike	Bell	(2003-05)	1,001

What's Next

The Owls' nine-game, 26-day homestand comes to a close this upcoming Wednesday night, a 7 p.m. tipoff against Palm Beach Atlantic. For tickets, click HERE or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

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