FAU men’s basketball (12-1, 2-0 C-USA) defeated the University of North Texas Mean Green (12-3, 0-1 C-USA) 50-46 on Thursday night, mounting a comeback to win their 11th straight game. 

“That was a good old-fashioned rock fight,” said head coach Dusty May. “We’re very proud of our guys’ effort.”

Sophomore center Vladislav Goldin had a stellar night on both sides of the floor. He finished the game with a solid statline of 11 points and 18 rebounds. 

Sophomore guard Johnell Davis also had a solid performance Thursday night that consisted of nine points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Michael Forrest and sophomore forward Alijah Martin combined for 18 points as well.

While shooting 30% from the field and 13% from three-point range as a team, the Owls still managed to get the job done in an electric fashion.

The Owls played a decent first half, holding a 26-22 lead going into  halftime. After a shaky second half, their lead slipped into a 46-37 deficit with five minutes left to play in the game. 

The Owls comeback came against a North Texas team that is second in the nation in scoring defense, as they left the Mean Green scoreless in the final 5:24 left in the game. FAU managed to go on a 13-0 run during the final five minutes of regulation.

Down by one with a minute left in regulation, junior guard Bryan Greenlee sank a clutch three-pointer to put FAU on top 48-46 with 56 seconds to play. Senior guard Michael Forrest made a pair of free-throws a possession later to secure the victory for the Owls. 

“North Texas is an elite defensive team themselves, they’re physical and aggressive. Our guys responded. Especially for us, being a team that’s known as being skilled and offensive minded, for us to build a win like this is a testament to what we are capable of moving forward “said May.

The Owls will now prepare to host the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Blazers (11-2, 2-0 C-USA) on Monday, Jan. 5 at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m and will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

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