Jordan McCoy's first-half dunk was his only field goal of the game. (OwlAccess.com photo)
Bye bye
FAU falls to South Alabama 79-76 in overtime Thursday and is eliminated from earning a bye in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Originally published on
2/23/2012
by
Marcus Nelson
BOCA RATON – Florida Atlantic is still looking for some sudden improvement to make a run during the Sun Belt Conference tournament
After Thursday's 79-76 overtime loss to South Alabama, the Owls will get an extra game to figure things out.
Losing to South Alabama eliminates FAU from earning a first-round bye in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
But to have any success in the tournament, the Owls will have to have a quick improvement.
“The team has been inconsistent all year,” said FAU coach Mike Jarvis. “There are some years when it doesn't happen. This happens to be one of those years where I don't think we have had enough guys really make the commitment to have a good team.”
The Owls needed two free throws by Greg Gantt with 19 seconds to force overtime tied at 67.
“I felt pretty confident going into overtime because I felt that we are the better team and overtime games are when he can really step up and accept the challenge,” said FAU guard Dennis Mavin.
Instead, South Alabama quickly jumped up by six points in overtime and, led by Mychel Ammons who had nine of his 26 points after regulation, won the game when a desperation shot by Ray Taylor was off the mark.
“Anytime a team scores right off the bat in overtime it's big,” Jarvis said.
FAU was led by 26 points by Gantt.
GameBrowser: South Alabama 79, FAU 76 OT
GameChanger
Mychal Ammons' 3-pointer just two minutes into the overtime period gave the Jaguars a 75-69 lead and
turned momentum solidly in South Alabama's favor.
Trending Topics
- With the loss, the Owls appear to be destined to end their season on a whimper.
- South Alabama was so dominant in the overtime, it's a wonder the Owls were able to extend the game.
- Guards Greg Gantt and Ray Taylor were challenged to come up big, but only showed marginal improvement over their play the last few games.
Key stats
3 – Field goals the Owls made in overtime out of 10 shots
20 – Points by Ammons in the second half in overtime
9 – Fouls by FAU's starting front-court of Kelvin Penn, who fouled out, and Kore White
Up Next
FAU will play Troy in the last game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday.