The loss dropped the Owls to 5-20 overall and 1-12 in conference play.
In a performance that saw senior guard Paul Graham III give one of the best efforts of his career with 33 points, it was the overmatched FAU big men which ultimately led to the team’s demise. The Owls were outscored 28-4 in the paint.
“Our big men struggled internally,” says head coach Mike Jarvis. “They just could not do anything with the ball when they got it.”
The Owls gave the Trojans all they could handle early in the first half as a quick 3-pointer from Graham and a field goal from Carderro Nwoji got the Owls off to a 5-0 start.
However, the Owls could not seem to stop Trojan guard Brandon Hazzard who shot 80 percent from 3-point land and scored 15 points in each half. The Trojans would go up by as much as 12 midway through the first half before a 14-2 run by the Owls tied the game. A three by Shavar Richardson gave the Owls their second lead in the half. A long two-point buzzer beater by Hazzard would knot things at 40 going into halftime.
Two threes out the gate in the second half from Graham and a free throw by Brett Royster, which would be his lone score, boosted the Owls to their largest lead of the game: 47-40.
However, Hazzard answered with three consecutive threes of his own and Troy never looked back from there. Graham would only score three more points and the Owls never saw the lead again.
“We did not do a good job getting Paul [Graham III] the ball,” says Jarvis. “This is a game that should have [seen] him taking at least 25 shots.”
Graham finished 11-17 in field goals, while the Owls forwards combined for four points total.
On a side note, Alex Tucker, who finished with five assists, became the school’s all time leader in freshman assists.
The Owls are set to welcome the University of Denver to “The Burrow” on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.
