Pablo Bertone fades away for two of his 12 points in FAU's 75-70 victory over ULL.(OwlAccess.com photo)

Too much Gantt

Greg Gantt scores 23 points to lead FAU past Louisiana-Lafayette and even the Owls' record at 8-8.

Originally published on 1/3/2013

by Alyssa Barbieri

BOCA RATON –Every victory is important to Florida Atlantic coach Mike Jarvis, but defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 75-70 on Thursday had added significance as the Owls prepare for a two-game road trip against conference powerhouses Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

 “We’re still nowhere near where we’d like it to be, but it’s getting better,” Jarvis said. “As a coach you just want to see things starting to evolve. You want to see a little more fluidity, a little more cohesiveness, see more guys contributing and that’s what’s happening.”

It was evident early on that the Ragin’ Cajuns were focused on making Owls leading scorer Greg Gantt a non-factor in the game. That strategy worked early on in the first half, but Gantt eventually wore out defenders and found ways to get open and make shots.

“They can do all that denying, all that chasing me and trying to punk me the first couple minutes of the game, but their legs are going to get tired eventually,” said Gantt, who finished with a team-high 23 points. “As a team I feel like we can run all day. The way our offense is that you can’t do that for 40 minutes. You’re going to get hit with so many screens you’re eventually going to give up something.”

FAU led from the midway point of the first half on, but the Ragin’ Cajuns (6-10, 2-3 Sun Belt) hung around for the entire game. The Owls were able to avoid a second-half collapse that has reared its head several times this season.

The Owls (8-8, 3-2) had three players in double digits, including freshman guard Stefan Moody (16) and guard Pablo Bertone (12). Moody also had a career-high nine rebounds.

GameBrowser: FAU 75, Louisiana-Lafayette 70

• Moving forward: Stefan Moody scored 16 points and nabbed a career-high 9 rebounds ... Pablo Bertone scored 12 points and added 3 assists and 2 rebounds … Greg Gantt scored a game-high 23 points
• Moving backward: Chris Bryant was held scoreless and had one rebound in his short stint on the court. ...Richard Morrow didn't play due to concussion-like symptoms.
• Key stat: 18 – free throws made by FAU
• Up next: FAU begins a two-game conference road trip at Middle Tennessee on Thursday at 8 p.m.

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