Technical knockout
FAU drops its 11th consecutive game after Owls coach Mike Jarvis is ejected in the first half of its 94-88 loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday.
Originally published on
1/22/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
BOCA RATON – Florida Atlantic nearly pulled off a huge comeback vs. Louisiana-Monroe, but Owls coach Mike Jarvis wasn’t around to see it.
Down 17 points at one point, the Owls rallied to cut the margin to two on three occasions before eventually falling 94-88 to the Warhawks in front of 764 at FAU Arena on Thursday.
Jarvis was ejected from the game with less than two minutes remaining in the half after the Owls were assessed four technical fouls in succession and game officials called for police to escort Jarvis from the floor.
Jarvis was arguing a call and appeared to make contact with one of the officials. Jarvis kept the protest going as the officials huddled and another technical was called. And then a third… and then a fourth. Officially FAU was charged with all four technicals, but the officials indicated Jarvis was hit with at least three of them.
“I wish I had my microphone on, then I could have played it for you ,” Jarvis said. “I can’t even describe it. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Jarvis said following the game there was no contact between him and the official.
“The official that called the technical fouls on me – there was no contact and that’s not why I got a technical foul,” Jarvis said.
With Jarvis out, Mike Jarvis II coached the remainder of the game and nearly guided the Owls to their first conference victory of the season.
ULM had a 17-point lead with 13:35 remaining in the game. FAU cut the lead to 86-84 on a three-pointer by Shavar Richardson with :42 remaining and trailed 88-86 with :23 following on a layup by Paul Graham.
The Owls’ last hope was when FAU guard Alex Tucker hit two free throws with :14 remaining to cut the margin to 90-88.
However each time FAU made it a one-possession game, the Owls fouled the Warhawks, who didn’t miss any of their eight free throws in the final 30 seconds.
“There was no doubt in my mind that our kids were going to continue to fight and claw when we were down,” Jarvis said. "We've done that all year and will continue to do that."
Box score
GAME REWIND
Slam dunk: Shavar Richardson reached his career high 20 points by draining eight of his 12 shots, including all four from behind the arc. …On the court for 29 minutes, Paul Graham averaged a point per minute. … Alex Tucker recorded his first career double-double, doling out 11 assists to go with his 12 points.
Off the rim: Carderro Nwoji made just one of his six attempts from behind the arc. …The Warhawks out-rebounded the Owls 37-32. …There was that little matter of four technical fouls…
From the box score: The Owls converted 16-of-19 free throw attempts, but it was Louisiana-Monroe’s strong presence at the line that made the difference. The Warhawks made 35-of-45 attempts, including nine in a row in the final minute.
Up next: FAU travels to Arkansas St. (12-7, 4-4 Sun Belt) on Saturday, a game that will be televised by CSS.
Final shot: Maybe Paul Graham should come off the bench more often. After a slow start, Graham’s hot second-half shooting brought the Owls back into the game. He scored 23 of his game-high 29 points after the intermission.