FAU men’s basketball (9-1) defeated the St. Thomas University Bobcats (9-3) 97-74 on Wednesday night, tying their longest winning streak in program history at eight games.

“Very pleased with where we are going into conference play on Saturday,” said head coach Dusty May. “We have a deep roster, we’re very talented, and we have a tight-knit group, so we’re excited to see what we can do over a 20-game slate.”

Sophomore guard Alijah Martin had a fantastic performance, finishing the night with a team-high 18 points and five rebounds while shooting 71% from the field. 

Redshirt freshman guard Nick Boyd also recorded a solid statline with 17 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Michael Forrest and sophomore guard Johnell Davis combined for 26 points as they both played a major contribution to their team’s success.

The Owls were solid on both sides of the ball, primarily on offense. They shot 54.7% from the field on 65 shot attempts and tied their season-high in assists with 21. 

FAU started off hot in the first half, making the first six shots of the game. They went on to finish the half strong shooting 57.8% from the field, leaving them with a 26-point advantage at the half.

The Owls came out of halftime still shooting the ball efficiently, as junior guard Jalen Gaffney sank a three-pointer 30 seconds into the second half. 

With 18:14 in the second half, Boyd converted a three-point play to give the Owls’ their largest lead of the night at 32 points. 

“St. Thomas is a good program, they’re going to win a lot of games. They present a number of challenges. Hopefully that helps prepare us for FIU, who’s also a little bit small and can shoot a lot of threes,” said May. “All of these games are intentional when preparing for future opponents so hopefully this prepares us for Saturday.”

The Owls will now prepare to host in-state rival Florida International University (4-5) on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Jahsheem Benjamin is a contributing writer at the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @JBenzzofficial.