The Saga Continues Losing streaks are a part of sports. But let’s face it: No one wants to be a part of them. Putting one behind you is a tough and daunting task at times. FAU seems to have met a formidable one; to say the least. The Owls fought back hard, and late, but fell to the Warhawks of the University of Louisiana-Monroe by a final score of 88-94 before an announced crowd of 764 tonight in Boca Raton. ULM threw down two dunks to start the game, which could have been an early indicator of the night to follow, but FAU trotted out to a 16-8 advantage at the 12:00 minute mark prompting Monroe’s Orlando Early to call time. It worked. They went on an 11-3 run to tie the game mostly at the hands of Rudy Turner; all 6-8, 275 lbs of him. The Warhawks took their first lead with 3:50 to play. Then some major drama ensued at the expense of Coach Jarvis. After an obvious missed out of bounds call under the basket where the referee awarded ULM the ball, Jarvis could not contain his frustration. The FAU bench was hit with a technical for vocal objection, and then Jarvis and was hit with three successive technical fouls on his own. This sent the Warhawks to the line for 8 free throws and the ball. They converted on 7 of 8, and as a result, took a 42-34 lead into the locker room. Things would not fair any better for FAU early in the second as ULM came out ready to play and extended its half time to lead 17. The Owls had seen enough at this point, responded with a 6-0 run, and would not go away; chipping at the seemingly insurmountable deficit behind the spectacular second half scoring of Paul Graham (29 points, 23 in the second), pulling to within 2 repeatedly with just under 1:30 to go. The score see sawed between 2 and 4 points as FAU just could not find a turnover to give them the chance at the lead. Ironically, the Owls out shot the Warhawks on the night connecting on 53.2% of their shots to that of 44.1% for Monroe. They also won the turnover battle. Shavar Richardson was on fire from all over the court. He was perfect from long range, and connected on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. Alex Tucker had an impressive 11 assists to go with 12 points. But the “bottom line” was the foul line. ULM went to the stripe a staggering forty five times. Seven of which were at the hands of technical fouls, and should have never been taken. ULM was lead by Rudy Turner, who finished with 23 points, and 11 rebounds. The slide now stands at 11 straight, and drops FAU to 4-16, and 0-8 in Sun Belt play. When will it end? No one knows at this point. But, to quote Bobby Bowden: “Yes, this too shall pass”. “Weird Wild Stuff” The late great Johnny Carson would have loved tonight’s venue. Here are four observations from tonight that were of note: Four technical fouls on one play No Dirty Birds (well, just three of them) Mary Carey on hand The Owls drop their 11th in a row to the second worse team in the Sun Belt. You are correct sir! Parting Thought Here is an interesting photograph. Now, what do you think Craig Angelos is discussing with Mary Carey and, what appears to be, her agent?
