Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Tulane on January 4, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET
1 p.m. ET
Men's Basketball
at Tulane
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Saturday, January 22
Boca Raton, Fla.
4 PM
Florida Atlantic
vs
Marshall
Thundering Visits The Burrow Saturday
1/21/2022 3:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOCA RATON --Â The Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team took sole possession of first place in the Conference USA East Division following Thursday's victory over Western Kentucky. The Owls will look to remain in that position when Marshall visits The Burrow Saturday afternoon.
When Saturday's game tips off, it will be just 14 days since the last meeting between the two teams. Michael Forrest scored 27 points, including two big 3-pointers in the final minutes to secure a 90-77 road victory for FAU in the previous matchup.
While the Owls are coming off a pair home wins, Marshall is 0-5 in Conference USA action and has dropped eight straight.
The FAU-WKU tilt is slated for a 4 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and will be telecast on ESPN+.
The Owls are concluding a stretch of five games in 10 days and also wrapping up a three-game homestand. FAU makes a road swing through Texas next week, traveling to El Paso to face UTEP on Thursday, before a Saturday contest in San Antonio at UTSA.
Last Time Out - FAU 78, WKU 69
Western Kentucky had all the momentum with 76 seconds remaining in Thursday night's game at FAU Arena. The Hilltoppers (10-8, 2-3 CUSA) were on an 8-0 run and trailed by just one point, 70-69. But Florida Atlantic (10-8, 3-2 CUSA) shored up its defense, got a pair of stops and scored the final eight points of the game to take a 78-69 victory.
"Our guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of confidence," FAU head coach Dusty May said. "I'm very proud of everyone who played. I thought we battled with everything we had. Our guys didn't blink. They didn't bend. They were locked in."
Alijah Martin had scored in double figures in seven straight games, but he was struggling vs. WKU. With less than two minutes left, he had just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. But he remained confident. His driving layup in the lane with 1:16 remaining stopped the Hilltoppers' 8-0 run. Following a huge defensive play as Everett Winchester took an offensive foul, Martin buried a 3-pointer to put his team on top75-69 with 40 seconds left.
Winchester came up big on the defensive end again, this time with a rebound which gave the Owls an opportunity to hold the ball and force WKU to foul. Instead, Michael Forrest -- who had an uncharacteristically poor shooting night himself – found himself with a wide-open 3-pointer and buried it to stick a dagger in the Hilltoppers.
Winchester did a little bit of everything for the Owls Thursday night. He and Forrest led the way in scoring with 14 points apiece. But Winchester did many of the things that aren't always noticed. He grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, dished out a pair of assists, recorded a steal and drew six of the just 10 total fouls called against WKU.
"When he's on, he's a Swiss Army knife," May said of Winchester. "Down the stretch for us, we switched him onto (Davyion) McKnight, their point guard who was finding a rhythm. He guarded him and his length bothered him. He came up with a loose ball rebound. He just did all the little things that didn't show up in the stat sheet. He still had a good line, but it doesn't compare to the impact he had on our team and on this game."
Five Owls reached double-digit scoring in the game. In addition to the 14 apiece from Forrest and Winchester, Martin scored 13 for his eighth straight game in double figures, while Vlad Goldin added 12 and Bryan Greenlee had 12 on four 3-pointers. Forrest recorded a career-high eight assists in the contest as well. The Owls shared the ball effectively, recorded 20 assists on their 33 made field goals.
FAU was strong on the offensive boards once again. The Owls pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, leading to a 16-1 advantage in second-chance points. FAU also outscored WKU 38-26 in the paint and 20-11 off turnovers.
A Goldin bucket with 3:36 remaining seemingly put the Owls in control, 70-61. But WKU responded with an 8-0 run. McKnight hit 5-of-6 from the free-throw line over the next 60 seconds before a Josh Anderson 3-pointer cut the WKU deficit to one, 70-69.
When Saturday's game tips off, it will be just 14 days since the last meeting between the two teams. Michael Forrest scored 27 points, including two big 3-pointers in the final minutes to secure a 90-77 road victory for FAU in the previous matchup.
While the Owls are coming off a pair home wins, Marshall is 0-5 in Conference USA action and has dropped eight straight.
The FAU-WKU tilt is slated for a 4 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and will be telecast on ESPN+.
The Owls are concluding a stretch of five games in 10 days and also wrapping up a three-game homestand. FAU makes a road swing through Texas next week, traveling to El Paso to face UTEP on Thursday, before a Saturday contest in San Antonio at UTSA.
Last Time Out - FAU 78, WKU 69
Western Kentucky had all the momentum with 76 seconds remaining in Thursday night's game at FAU Arena. The Hilltoppers (10-8, 2-3 CUSA) were on an 8-0 run and trailed by just one point, 70-69. But Florida Atlantic (10-8, 3-2 CUSA) shored up its defense, got a pair of stops and scored the final eight points of the game to take a 78-69 victory.
"Our guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of confidence," FAU head coach Dusty May said. "I'm very proud of everyone who played. I thought we battled with everything we had. Our guys didn't blink. They didn't bend. They were locked in."
Alijah Martin had scored in double figures in seven straight games, but he was struggling vs. WKU. With less than two minutes left, he had just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. But he remained confident. His driving layup in the lane with 1:16 remaining stopped the Hilltoppers' 8-0 run. Following a huge defensive play as Everett Winchester took an offensive foul, Martin buried a 3-pointer to put his team on top75-69 with 40 seconds left.
Winchester came up big on the defensive end again, this time with a rebound which gave the Owls an opportunity to hold the ball and force WKU to foul. Instead, Michael Forrest -- who had an uncharacteristically poor shooting night himself – found himself with a wide-open 3-pointer and buried it to stick a dagger in the Hilltoppers.
Winchester did a little bit of everything for the Owls Thursday night. He and Forrest led the way in scoring with 14 points apiece. But Winchester did many of the things that aren't always noticed. He grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, dished out a pair of assists, recorded a steal and drew six of the just 10 total fouls called against WKU.
"When he's on, he's a Swiss Army knife," May said of Winchester. "Down the stretch for us, we switched him onto (Davyion) McKnight, their point guard who was finding a rhythm. He guarded him and his length bothered him. He came up with a loose ball rebound. He just did all the little things that didn't show up in the stat sheet. He still had a good line, but it doesn't compare to the impact he had on our team and on this game."
Five Owls reached double-digit scoring in the game. In addition to the 14 apiece from Forrest and Winchester, Martin scored 13 for his eighth straight game in double figures, while Vlad Goldin added 12 and Bryan Greenlee had 12 on four 3-pointers. Forrest recorded a career-high eight assists in the contest as well. The Owls shared the ball effectively, recorded 20 assists on their 33 made field goals.
FAU was strong on the offensive boards once again. The Owls pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, leading to a 16-1 advantage in second-chance points. FAU also outscored WKU 38-26 in the paint and 20-11 off turnovers.
A Goldin bucket with 3:36 remaining seemingly put the Owls in control, 70-61. But WKU responded with an 8-0 run. McKnight hit 5-of-6 from the free-throw line over the next 60 seconds before a Josh Anderson 3-pointer cut the WKU deficit to one, 70-69.
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