Western Kentucky Avoids Two Loss Road Swing Florida Atlantic fell to the hot hands of Western Kentucky’s second half shooting tonight by a final score of 78-57. The Hilltoppers jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead to begin the night, but FAU responded with an 11-2 run to go ahead 14-7. Two Owl turnovers allowed the Toppers back to within 2 at 9:22 mark. They would then take the lead on back to back threes from Cvoro and Mendez. This begin an 18-2 Topper run. Carderro Nwoji responded with a duece at 25-18 to stop the bleeding. He alone accounted for 15 of FAU’s 27 first half point. WKU lead 31-27 at the break, despite shooting only 31.4% from the floor during the period. Strong play initially from both teams coming out of the break. However that would soon change, as WKU turned up the heat midway through the second advancing thier lead to 13 at the 6:10 mark as the Owls committed consecutive turnovers, allowed too many offensive rebounds, and had difficulty making shots from anywhere on the floor. Western Kentucky, on the other hand, connected on 59.4% of their total attempts. Carderro Nwoji finished with 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting for FAU – one off his season high. Orlando Mendez-Valdez was the high scorer for Western Kentucky and finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds. The loss drops FAU to 4-13 and 0-5 in Sun Belt play. “Rebounds, and assists to turnovers…those two things are going to win basketball games…if you don’t, you’re going to lose”, said Jarvis. Rebounding and turnovers definitely played a part in this one, as Western Kentucky held a 49-31 rebounding advantage overall (mostly on the glass), and had 21 assists to that of 7 for the Owls. But poor shooting was the ultimate downfall. Paul Graham and Shavar Richardson were ice cold, and that was the difference maker. They finished on a combined 5 of 27 for the game (18.5%). On a more serious note, Jarvis offered that Carlos Monroe will be in a boot for “about three weeks”, and will not play or practice with the team. This would put him back sometime in early February, perhaps around the University of New Orleans road game. The decision was made by the FAU Training Staff and Doctors, as the injury can not be addressed without complete rest. Dirty Birds Get Some Home Court Competion of Their Own The WKU men’s swim team was in action as the game antagonist tonight. The Dirty Birds wasted no time sizing up the competition. Litterally. Appearantly, they thought it best to strip down thier speedos as a distraction for the Home Team. Unfortunately for them, Game Operations was all over it, and quickly had them put back on their attire. The picture has been blurred to protect the innocent. Welcome Back Pep Band We all missed you guys. It just isn’t the same without you.
