After being ahead for most of the first half, FAU Men’s basketball fell behind 27-22 after a 18-4 run by Ave Maria. The lead was short lived though, as the Owls took the lead back for good behind a 7-0 run in just over two minutes.

The Owls (3-3) eventually outscored the Gyrenes (1-7) 62-24 the rest of the game in a 91-54 victory Tuesday.

The Owls have now defeated the Gyrenes in all four of their meetings which have all come in the past four seasons. The Gyrenes have lost their fourth straight game and seventh of the last eight.

FAU tied their season high in points scored with 91, which they also had in their home opening win against Edward Waters.

After shooting just 38 percent in the first half the Owls offense exploded in the second half shooting 50 percent from three and 77 percent overall to score 60 points.

Senior guard Justin Massey provided a spark coming off the bench. He outscored the Gyrenes bench by one with a career high 24 points.

He shot 10-of-15 overall and 50 percent from three-point range. He also added four rebounds and two assists.

The Owls bench outscored the Gyrenes 47-23 overall.

Redshirt senior center Ronald Delph was one rebound away from his third double double of the season. He had 16 points and a game high nine rebounds.

Senior guard Gerdarius Troutman had 10 points and a game-high four steals.

Graduate student guard Payton Hulsey grabbed three rebounds and dished out a season high eight assists.

After seeing the defense hold Ave Maria to 29 points in the first half, head coach Michael Curry knew that his team could start playing man to man defense to “pressure full court and turn them over and get out in transition.”

Cuury’s plan worked as the Owls forced 28 turnovers.

The Owls scored 40 points off of those turnovers, while the Gyrenes scored just eight off the Owls 12 turnovers. The Owls also scored 22 fast break points while holding the Gyrenes to zero.

The Gyrenes were led by guard Josh Flowers, who scored a team high 18 points. He also grabbed four boards.

Center Nemanja Brankov played a game high 32 minutes. He led his team in rebounds (8), assists (3), and blocks (1). He also scored nine points.

The Owls next game is at home on Saturday Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. against Bethune Cookman.

Matt Brown is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him@mattyb407.