Plane shame
Senior guard Paul Graham doesn't play after missing the team plane as the Owls fall to North Texas 69-60 Saturday in Denton, Texas.
Originally published on
1/17/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
Playing without leading scorer Paul Graham who missed the team flight on Friday, Florida Atlantic lost to North Texas 69-60 in Denton, Texas on Saturday.
Graham caught a later flight to to Texas on Saturday and was on the bench for the Owls’ tenth consecutive loss. He didn’t see action.
Graham was apparently at the airport on Friday but left his teammates shortly before it was time to board.
"Our leading scorer, for whatever reason - and God only knows - didn't get on the plane with the rest of his teammates," FAU coach Mike Jarvis said on the FAU's pre-game radio show. "He must have been held hostage at the Fort Lauderdale airport. He was there at the gate."
Graham’s impromptu change in travel plans was enough for FAU coach Mike Jarvis to hold the senior guard out of the entire game despite the Owls’ already thin bench, which was down to just three players.
Even without Graham, FAU managed to tie the game at 47 on a three-pointer by Owls senior guard Carderro Nwoji with 9:51 remaining.
However the Mean Green went on a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Nwoji and freshman guard Shavar Richardson each had 15 points to lead FAU (4-15, 0-7 Sun Belt).
North Texas (11-7, 4-3) was led by Eric Tramiel, who had 19 points.
Game Rewind
Slam Dunk: FAU forward Brett Royster, a native of Arlington, Tex., had his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. …Freshman guard Alex Tucker had five assists. …The Owls had a 44-31 rebound advantage.
Off the Rim: Even with just three players on the bench Chris Watson and Sammy
Hernandez both fouled out. …Nwoji was 6-of-17 from the field.
From the Box Score: The Mean Green was 11-of-20 (55 percent) from the floor in the second half.
Up Next: The Owls play host to Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Final shot: Give Jarvis credit for instilling some discipline by keeping Graham out of the game, even though he knew FAU would be at a huge disadvantage without its leading scorer. The bad part is that with Graham in the game, the Owls very well could have won.