The FAU Owls (8-6, 1-0 C-USA) defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd (7-8, 0-2 C-USA) on the road, 90-77, to kick off the start of conference play for the team Saturday night.

Due to the postponement of their games against Charlotte and Old Dominion, this was the Owls’ first game since their loss to High Point on Dec. 21.

FAU got off to a fast start, leading 22-8 against Marshall by the midpoint of the first half, and held a lead as large as 18 points. FAU never relinquished its lead but Marshall made numerous runs to stay within striking distance. 

Marshall struggled shooting the ball in the first half, shooting 34.3% from the field in contrast to FAU shooting 46.7% overall. Marshall also held FAU to just 30% from three. 

The second half saw both teams shake off the rust and become more aggressive with their scoring opportunities. Both teams also shot the ball much more efficiently. The Owls, especially, shot a blazing 61.5% from the field.

Marshall tried to climb back into the game, closing the lead to as little as five points, but they struggled to contain FAU’s hot shooting as FAU ran away with the game late.

Junior guard Michael Forrest dominated the game from start to finish. He ended the game with 27 points and three rebounds while shooting 56.3% from the field. 

Out of FAU’s eight three-pointers, six of them were courtesy of Forrest, including two clutch daggers to put the game away in the final minutes.

Forrest’s backcourt teammate, freshman guard Alijah Martin, took off in the second half and finished the game with 17 points, four rebounds, and two steals. 

FAU received a huge boost from its bench players, who outscored Marshall’s bench 35-6. Freshman forward Giancarlo Rosado was a key component of the bench unit, scoring 11 points in 11 minutes of action.

A pair of twenty-point scorers in freshman forward Obinna Anochili-Killen, who finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, and junior guard Taevion Kinsey, who finished with 20 points and six assists, led the way for Marshall.

The Owls will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn. for the second of a three-game road trip to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on C-USA.TV.

Trey Avant is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @TreyAvant3.