Finally in the Win Column Florida Atlantic picked up its first win of the year in Sun Belt play and stomped out a thirteen game losing streak tonight handily defeating the University of Louisiana-Lafayette 63-47. FAU raced out to a 12-3 lead early on in the first. The Cajuns turned up the defensive heat and cut the deficit to two on a dunk by forward Lamar Roberson, holding the Owl’s scoreless for a number of minutes, until they then caught stride again. Neither team shot particularly well during the period, but Florida Atlantic enjoyed a 5 point advantage at the half. Things got started in the second half they way the did in the the first, with FAU coming out of the break on a 6-0 run. The Cajuns tried to slow them down by using mass substitutions, bringing five fresh sets of legs into the game at a time, but to no avail. That’s when the Owls flew in for the kill, taking a commanding 46-27 lead with 9:59 to play. The lead was never in jeopardy and never slipped below double digits. Louisiana-Lafayette shot a ridiculous 5.3% from down town for the night, and simply could not buy a shot. Not one player for the Cajuns reached double figures. Their top scorer was Lamar Roberson, who had 8 points. Florida Atlantic, for the first time in what seems like forever and a day was not in foul trouble. ‘Well, when you get in foul trouble…I guess you learn how to do it after awhile”, offered Jarvis afterwards. Here was his take on the win: Paul Graham lead FAU with 18, and Shavar Richardson added 12 on 5 of 10 shooting. Brett Royster tied his career high with 14 points, and added 5 rebounds as well. He was quiet in the blocks category, however. Dean’s List Athletes Honored FAU Athletics recognized athletes that maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher. An impressive number were on hand to be honored. Gagel Gets the Call During the last five minutes of the game, the crowd put in the call for Freshman Nick Gagel, who has seen limited time at best for the Owls this season. He finally made it in with around a minute to play, converted 1 of 2 at the line, and just missed a half court toss at the buzzer to end the game. That’s The Stat Jack In a reverse of their last outing, FAU took to the free throw line 32 times to that of just 13 for UL. Next Up For The Owls The Owls have a bit of time off before they next head to ” The Big Easy ” and take on the Privateers of the University of New Orleans on February 5th. Tip-off time is scheduled for 8:00PM EST.
