Forrest Leads Owls Over Herd

Saturday, January 8

Huntington, W.Va.

7 PM

Florida Atlantic

-86,10 CUSA

Marshall

-78,02 CUSA

Fla. Atlantic

Marshall

1/8/2022 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score FAU-Marshall Box Score (PDF)

FAU wins at Marshall for first time since 2014

HUNGTINGTON, W. VA. (FAUSports.com) – Michael Forrest scored 27 points, including a pair of huge 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the contest, to lift the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team to a 90-77 victory at Marshall Saturday night at the Cam Henderson Center. It was the Owls' first victory at Marshall since 2014.

Three Owls (8-6, 1-0 CUSA) scored in double digits, but it was a team effort for FAU. Eight of the nine Owls who saw action scored in the contest.

"I really feel like we earned this one with a great couple weeks of practice," FAU head coach Dusty May said. "I'm really pleased with our guard play, our unselfishness and up front Giancarlo (Rosado) and Madiaw (Niang) gave us great minutes and made some timely, timely plays to help us come out in a very tough environment with a win."

FAU held the lead for over 38 minutes and led by as many as 18 points in the first half. Despite Marshall (7-8, 0-2) never being in front on the scoreboard, the Herd was within striking distance late in the contest. Marshall converted a traditional 3-point play at the 7:44 mark to pull within five, 72-67.

But FAU scored the next six points, as Madiaw Niang sandwiched a pair of buckets around a circus shot in the lane from Alijah Martin. With 5:24 left to go, FAU was back on top by double digits, 78-67. Marshall cut its deficit to seven, 80-73, with 3:15 left. With 96 seconds remaining in the game, Forrest missed a 3-pointer, but the ball was tapped back out to him and he buried it to put the Owls on top by 10. Forrest buried another triple 23 seconds later to put FAU on top by 13.

"When I caught the ball, it just felt good coming off my hand," Forrest said of the second of those big shots. "Once it went in, I knew the game was over. It just felt good for it go in. It's a great feeling. It gives us momentum going into the next game on Thursday. It just feels good to win."

Forrest's 27-point effort was a game-high and included 6-of-11 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. Martin added 17 points, while Rosado tallied 11. Eight of Rosado's points came in just eight minutes of action in the first half. Bryan Greenlee was masterful at the point guard position against Marshall. Greenlee dished out 10 assists against just two turnovers, while also grabbing three steals. Niang led the way on the glass with six rebounds in just 14 minutes.

The Owls outscored Marshall 35-6 in points off the bench.

"I was very, very pleased with our bench," May said. "Those guys made major contributions and found a way to win. I'm very happy that everybody who played in the game for us contributed. We need that going forward."

FAU used a 13-0 run in the first half to take control early in the contest. A Forrest bucket and six straight points from Rosado sparked the outburst that increased a 9-8 lead to 22-8 midway through the first half. Marshall battled back and pulled within eight at halftime, 40-32.

The Owls' lead fluctuated between eight and 12 for most of the second half, until an 8-1 spurt for the Herd pulled them within five, setting up the Owls to hold on and then pull away.

FAU remains on the road next week, traveling to Middle Tennessee State Thursday before wrapping up the three-game road swing at UAB next Saturday.