FAU men’s basketball (11-8, 4-2 C-USA) hosted the Marshall University Thundering Herd (7-12, 0-6 C-USA) in the Burrow at Abessinio Court Saturday afternoon, winning 71-60.

Already beating Marshall on the road earlier this month, this marks the first time since the 2012-13 season that FAU beat Marshall twice in the same calendar year.

“We’re playing our best basketball. Now, we just have to continue showing up day after day learning from our mistakes, figuring out what we need to do,” head coach Dusty May said. 

The arena was vibrant as 1,721 people attended the game as many of them cheered on the Owls in an energetic manner.

“That really gives us more energy to play with,” senior guard Michael Forrest said. “It’s just knowing that all the work we put in, people are coming to watch us play, so it gives us extra energy on the court.”

It was a tight contest between the Owls and the Thundering Herd in the first half. As FAU took the early 11-4 lead by only conceding two out of 13 shots, Marshall got back into it by outscoring the Owls 26-20 once halftime came around.

FAU’s perimeter defense shined in the half. As the Owls made four of their 11 three-pointers, Marshall struggled in that department only shooting 2-15 from deep. Both teams shot under 40% from the field, however, only getting accuracies of 37.9% and 33.3% respectively.

The Owls amped up their aggression in the second half. While taking more shots from the field, from beyond the arc, and at the free-throw line, they forced 10 turnovers from Marshall to assert their control over the game.

“I thought we got great guard play in the second half. Our screens were better, we cut more, [and] we moved with better pace. So we have to continue to do that for 40 minutes,” May said.

As the game entered the final minute, sophomore guard Bryan Greenlee capped off what was a crucial victory for the team with a two-handed dunk with 29 seconds left, bringing fans to their feet with excitement.

“The growth of our guys [has] been very rewarding because they’re all getting better and it’s a great group to be around. They’re fun to coach every day,” May said.

FAU finished the game shooting 43.1% from the field while maintaining excellent defense around the perimeter, only allowing three three-pointers out of 21 attempts from Marshall.

Freshman guard Alijah Martin led the team with 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Greenlee and Forrest had 12 points each, while freshman guard Johnell Davis ended with 10 points and five rebounds.

For Marshall, junior guard Taevion Kinsey obtained a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds despite shooting 7-21 from the field and turning the ball over four times. The only other player to score in double-digits for the Thundering Herd was senior forward Darius George with 12 points.

The Owls head back out on the road as they travel to El Paso, Texas to take on the UTEP Miners on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. It will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Richard Pereira is the Business Manager for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.