Seniors DeAndre Rice and Brent Crews provided the leadership needed for the (15-13) Owls to upset the (20-9) South Alabama Jaguars 79-69 Wednesday night at “The Burrow.” Coach Walter said, “I’m really proud of Dre and Crews.”
Through most of the first half the Owls offense was slowed down by a stiffling Jaguar defense. That all changed with 8 minutes to go in the period, after a pair of Brandon Davis free throws put the Owls behind by 3. Senior guard Rice scored 3 of his 23 points on a shot from right in front of the Jaguars’ bench. The jumper spurred a 20-4 run to close out the half and gave the owls a 35-22 halftime lead.
In the second half South Alabama’s mamouth center Ernest Little tried to bring the Jags back into the game single handedly. Little’s night was topped with a series when he blocked a shot, retrieved it, ran down the court and dunked the ball on the head of FAU guard Sean Alarcon. Despite that series, Paul Graham thought the Owls did a good job on Little. “Monroe and (Derrick) Simmons did a good job containing him,” he said. “He’s so big. There’s only so much that can be done.”
Simmons and Monroe did more than just play good defense on Wednesday. The duo were also dominant on the offensive side of the ball. Carlos Monroe got his night started early, scoring the Owls’ first 4 points on his way to a 21-point and 15-rebound performance. Simmons threw down a thunderous two handed jam in the first half, but his real impact came after Jeff Parmer fouled out 12 minutes into the second half. Simmons came off the bench and scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half, including key free-throws to hold off a late Jaguar run.
After the game Coach Walters was pleased with his team’s performance. “This was a good win versus a good team. Our guys stepped up to the plate against a top 100 team.”
Jaguars Coach John Pelphrey was also impressed with Owls: “They’re outstanding offensively, and FAU is getting better defensively as well.”
The Owls guaranteed themselves a home game in the Sun Belt Conference Championship with Wednesday’s victory. Their seeding remains up in the air. They could be as high as 4 but no lower than 6.
