Rocky toppers
Sure, Denver has the longest road losing streak in the nation, but after defeating the Pioneers 67-61 Thursday at FAU Arena any victory feels good for Florida Atlantic, which may get Carlos Monroe back next week.
Originally published on
2/12/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
Video Highlights
BOCA RATON - Florida Atlantic can relate to a team which hasn’t won a road game in nearly three seasons.
The Owls haven’t won a road game this season, but were able to defeat Denver 67-61 at FAU Arena on Thursday.
The loss gave the Pioneers their 43rd consecutive defeat on the road, the longest such streak in the nation, but was the second victory in the last three games for the Owls at home.
FAU coach Mike Jarvis doesn't know if the Owls have officially turned the corner on this season, but admits it's a possibility.
"I do think we have a chance to get better," Jarvis said. “A lot of teams don't, but we do because we are so young.”
And the news could get much better for the Owls very soon. Jarvis said the foot injury that has sidelined Carlos Monroe since Jan. 10 is healing and Monroe could return with limited minutes as soon as Wednesday when FAU plays at Savannah State.
"The hope is by Wednesday he could be possibly playing some limited minutes," Jarvis said. "We'll treat him like a pitcher with a limited number of pitches. We'll give him a limited number of minutes."
Paul Graham led all scorers with 25 points and sophomore forward Brett Royster added 13 points and also had five blocked shots. Royster established a new FAU record with 63 blocks in a season, breaking the record of Raheim Brown who had 59 in 2001-02.
“I really didn’t put too much emphasis on that, I was just acting on instinct,” Royster said of his blocks.
Graham, who had a career-high 33 points in FAU's 78-63 loss to Troy on Saturday, started off hot again. After four minutes, Graham had all of the Owls' 14 points.
"I didn’t realize I had the first 14," said Graham, who was 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the arc. “My main focus is just to see if we are ahead.”
Graham, who now has scored 1397 points in his FAU career, moved into third place on FAU's all-time scoring list, trailing Earnest Crumbley (1,559) and Craig Buchanan (1,501).
Unfortunately for the Owls, the Pioneers were almost as hot from the field and led 19-16 at the 11:45 mark before a 8-0 run by the Owls capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by Alex Tucker.
The Owls led 40-32 at halftime but went the first 6:30 of the second half with scoring a field goal. Denver re-took the lead at 45-44 with 13 minutes remaining in the game on back-door layup by Nigel Peter-Denman using its Princeton-style offense.
But the Owls' defense adjusted and Denver went the next four minutes without a basket. An 11-0 FAU run gave the Owls a 55-45 lead with 8:30 remaining.
The Pioneers were able to cut the margin to five late, but FAU came up with stops down the stretch when it needed them.
"They did a good job throughout the game and a couple of guys just got happy at the end,” Jarvis said. “We're not used to being up in games and they just got a little excited."
Game review
Slam dunk: Former tuba player-turned-hoopster Chris Coleman offered his best performance as an Owl, scoring a career-high 12 points (including 6-of-6 from the line) in 21 minutes. ...Brett Royster (5-for-5) and Paul Graham (5-for-5) joined Coleman in perfect performances from the line...Like Coleman, Royster may have played his most complete game as an Owl, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds to go with his five blocks.
Off the rim: The Owls won despite starters Chris Watson and Carderro Nwoji going a combined 0-7 from the field. ...FAU didn't connect on a field goal for the final 3:29, but made enough free throws to hang on. ...The Owls won despite allowing Denver to shoot 46.9% from the field.
From the box score: FAU's bench actually outscored Denver 17-16. That may not happen again this season.
Up next: FAU travels to South Alabama (14-11, 7-7) on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Final shot: The Owls may have a little more confidence after winning two out of their last four games and with help possibly on the way if Carlos Monroe keeps making progress, the stretch run could be more interesting than originally thought.