SPORTS
The Owls are on a streak, and not a good one.
Poor shooting caused the Owls (18-9, 10-3) to fall to their Sun Belt Conference adversary, Louisiana Lafayette, 72-64 at the Burrow on Saturday night. Over the last five games, the Owls have dropped 3, and are a furious comeback against FIU away from having lost 4 of its last 5 games.
After spending over an hour with his team post-game, head coach Mike Jarvis described his message to his team.
“Basically the main crux of the message was: We have to finish. We have to find a way to finish the job we started,” said Jarvis.
The losing streak is evident and alive in large part because the Owls have stopped shooting well.
The 3-point shooting that used to be a strength, and was a pillar to the best record in the Sun Belt, has now caused FAU to lose 3 of its last 5 games.
Louisiana Lafayette followed the recent code, allowing FAU to shoot from deep, and it worked. FAU shot just 2-14 from behind the 3-point line.
It was a game swarming with foul calls, as the referees allowed FAU and ULL to shoot a combined 46 free throw attempts.
After Shavar Richardson’s three-pointer put the Owls ahead 50-49 with 10:59 to play, the Owls didn’t make another field goal for the remainder of the game.
“The one thing that needs to change is we have to finish,” said Jarvis. “And in order to finish, we have to get to another level mentally. We have to get to a point where, in a game like tonight, you take the lead, you don’t give it back”
The loss came off a defeat in Denver about 1700 miles away.
“Maybe we just need a few days off,” said Jarvis. “Maybe we just need to get a little bit of rest for a few days.”