Inquiring Minds Want to Know: When Will it End? Florida Atlantic saw its losing streak grow to a concerning 13 games at the hands of poor shooting, dropping yet another to the Trojans of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock by a final score of 59-66. UALR jumped out to a 13-6 lead 8 minutes in, and was content to go inside, and often. Royster picked up his second foul just under 10 minutes into the game, leaving the court, but not before an above the rim excursion that brought down the house on hand. FAU battled back to within 5 but the Trojans responded, pushing the lead to 10, prompting Coach Jarvis to take a time out with just over 2:00 to play in the first half. The Owl’s tried to hold the last possession and lost it to a jump ball. But a heads up defensive play by Tucker gave him a heave ho attempt from ¾ court at the buzzer that was just off the mark. FAU trailed 24-35 at the break as the Trojans shot a staggering 60.9% clip for the first period. The Owls started the second on a 9-2 run, capped off by a Watson slam, pulling to within three. But UALR responded with 12 unanswered points. Florida Atlantic would however pull to within two possesions a number of times down the stretch, but could not gain traction, missing on multiple opportunities. With just over 1:12 to play, FAU found itself down by five, and had the ball. Graham went up for a wild shot and drew contact and the foul. He converted on 1 of 2 after hitting his previous 10 straight at the charity stripe reducing the lead to four. That’s as close as they would get. The Owls almost forced a Trojan turnover on the next possession until head coach Steve Shields was able to get a time out in. UALR scored an easy lay in on the inbounds. FAU had one last chance to counter on the opposite end, but Alex Tuckers pass to a wide open underneath Brett Royster sailed out of bounds. There was no answer for the inside game of the Trojans tonight who had 26 points in the paint. That was in deed a difference maker. But continued poor shooting is the main culprit that is keeping this team from pulling off a lot of close games down the stretch. They just cant find someone who is reliable in the clutch. FAU shot just 19 of 60 from the floor, and 22% from beyond the arc. They did however sink an impressive 17-18 from the free throw line. Paul Graham led the Owls with 22 points. Shavar Richardson finished up with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Brett Royster added 4 blocks to his push to become FAU’s all time single season leader in swats, while hauling in 8 rebounds to boot. Shane Edwards paced UALR with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
