FAU guard Ray Taylor splits a couple Miami players for two of his game-high 23 points on Saturday. (FAUOwlAccess.com photo)
Doomed by slow start
FAU falls behind early and Miami pulls away late as the Owls lose 87-69 to the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl
Originally published on
12/19/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
Video: Owls fall to Canes
> Boxscore: Individual and team stats
SUNRISE – FAU wanted to put its best foot forward when it took on Miami in its first game in the Orange Bowl Classic on Saturday.
Instead, the Owls tripped out of the gate vs. the Hurricanes, losing 87-69 at the Bank Atlantic Center.
Miami (11-1) roared out to a 22-10 lead 11 minutes into the game and, led by 17 points and 14 rebounds from Dwayne Collins, coasted to an easy victory.
“You play against a good team and you can’t start off the way we started,” said FAU coach Mike Jarvis, noting the Owls tentative early play. “We had good shots and they’re freshman. But when you play against players you have to be a player.”
The Owls (5-5) trailed 43-23 at halftime, but looked to be putting together a rally with a 10-0 run that brought FAU to within 45-35 four minutes into the second half.
However, UM was back up by 20 five minutes later and was in firm control the rest of the game.
The defeat begins a difficult three-game stretch that continues with road games against Georgia and Maryland. Jarvis hopes playing tougher competition will be valuable to his club.
“We have to learn,” said FAU freshman guard Ray Taylor, who led all scorers with 23 points and had a game-high seven assists. “It can’t be a total loss, we have to learn.”
GameBrowser: Miami 87, FAU 69
Moving forward: Brett Royster had five of FAU’s 12 blocks and also had three steals…Justin Davis, recovering from an elbow infection, had four rebounds…The Owls had four players (Taylor, Gantt, Hughley, Richardson) in double-figures.
Moving backward: The Owls shot 65 percent (15-of-23) on their free throws… Gantt was 1-of-7 shooting in the first half…DeMonte Simpson fouled out in nine minutes with two points and two rebounds.
Stat download: Miami had 24 offensive rebounds and held a 55-31 advantage on the boards.
Up next: FAU travels to face Georgia in Athens, Ga. on Wednesday.