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FAU guard Ray Taylor had 14 points and led the Owls with seven assists in Western Kentucky's 78-69 overtime loss Thursday at FAU Arena. (FAUOwlAccess photo)

Throw in the towel

>WKU 78, FAU 69 (OT): The Owls lose to the Hilltoppers in overtime and tumble in the seeding order of next week’s Sun Belt Conference tournament

Originally published on 2/25/2010

by Marcus Nelson

> Video:FAU falls to WKU in OT
> Boxscore: Individual, team stats
> GameBrowser: Our take on the game
> Re-Tweet Replay: Our Twitter updates from the game
> Sun Belt standings: Updated after Thursday's games
> Photo Gallery: WKU at FAU

BOCA RATON – After Western Kentucky junior forward Steffphon Pettigrew stepped over the line on a free-throw attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining in a tie game, FAU Arena was jumping and the players on the FAU bench were feeding off the energy.

Not as much as Western Kentucky’s A.J. Slaughter was.

When the overtime period began, Slaughter took over and scored seven of his 19 points propelling the Hilltoppers to a 78-69 victory over the Owls on Thursday.

“We wanted to come out aggressive and really throw a punch early and not give them in any confidence,” said Slaughter, the Sun Belt Conference’s leading scorer.

Before Slaughter carried the Hilltoppers in the overtime period, Greg Gantt provided the heroics for the Owls down the stretch. Gantt made four 3-pointers in the final eight minutes as FAU rallied from 9-points down to tie it at 61 on the freshman's triple from the left wing with :18 remaining.

“If Greg had made some shots early, maybe the whole game’s different,” FAU coach Mike Jarvis said. “I’m glad he made them but he’s got to make them earlier.”

After Gantt’s shot, the Hilltoppers (17-12, 10-6) ran a play to Pettigrew on the baseline, but he was fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining.

The timeout FAU called timeout to ice Pettigrew apparently worked. He missed the first one and stepped over the line for a violation on the second one. An FAU shot by Ray Taylor from half-court was off the mark and the game went to overtime.

In the extra period, the Owls didn’t make a field goal (0-5) and Western Kentucky was 5-of-6 from the field .

“I thought we were going to win,” said Gantt. “I thought we were going to get them in overtime, but Slaughter just dominated.”

The loss dropped the Owls (14-13, 10-6 Sun Belt) out of contention for the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division title and the important No. 3 seed in next week’s SBC Tournament that also gets a first-round bye.

GameBrowser: Western Kentucky 78, FAU 69

Moving forward: Brett Royster had 16 points and 10 rebounds. …Alex Tucker was 7-of-8 from the line. …The Owls shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field in the second half.

Moving backward: WKU scored 17 points in overtime …Sanchez Hughley was 2-of-10 from the field. …Ray Taylor had 14 points and 7 assists but fouled out.

Stat download: FAU was outrebounded 47-25.

Up Next:FAU’s last regular season game of the season is Saturday vs. Middle Tennessee

Re-Tweet Replay: Follow us on Twitter @FAUOwlAccess

FAU @ WKU: Tip at 7 p.m. Starters for Owls…Taylor, Gantt, Tucker, Hughley, Royster
WKU 7, FAU 5 @ 1st half <16 media timeout: Highlight of the night may turn out to be a block by Tucker. The little guy got way up there.
FAU 10, WKU 7 @ 1st half <12 media timeout: Owls open up a 3-point lead on triple by Taylor
WKU 14, FAU 10 @ 1st half <8 media timeout: FAU really concentrating on Slaughter and it’s working for now at least. He only has 2 points and is 1-of-4 from field
WKU 23, FAU 18 @ 1st half <4 media timeout: Taylor’s scoop layup in traffic is now the highlight of the night.
Halftime: FAU WKU 28, FAU 24…Royster 7 points. WKU’s Slaughter held to 4 points
WKU 41, FAU 34 @ 2nd half <16 media timeout: Gantt hit first shot of the game, a 3-pointer but hasn’t hit from the field since.
WKU 48, FAU 41 @ 2nd half <12 media timeout: Nice dunk by Royster off a Taylor miss has the Owls hanging around
WKU 53, FAU 46 @ 2nd half <8 media timeout: Royster (14 points) carrying the team on his back right now
WKU 59, FAU 56 @ 2nd half <4 media timeout: Forget what I said about Gantt earlier. He’s hit 3 triples in less than 4 minutes as the Owls are in a 1-possesion game
WKU 61, FAU 61 @ :03 2nd half: Gantt hits triple from left wing to tie @ :18. WKU ball when we come back
End of regulation…FAU 61, WKU 61: At the line with 1.5 remaining, Pettigrew missed first free throw and stepped over the line on the second attempt. Taylor’s half-court heave was off.
WKU 72, FAU 67 @ 1:03 OT: Slaughter can’t miss and has 7 points in OT
Final: WKU 78, FAU 69…Overtime was no contest. The Owls didn’t make a field goal and lose a crucial game at home.