The Florida Atlantic Owls (7-12) defeated the Harvard Crimson (14-3) due largely in part to an awful shooting night by the road team.
FAU started the game with an 8-0 run, looking very fluid on offense. The 2-3 zone employed by FAU coach Mike Jarvis caused some early Harvard turnovers and the Owls capitalized.
Center Dragan Sekelja entered the game early, providing some defense and rebounding as soon as he stepped on the floor. The Croatian senior is still dealing with some back issues, but the fact that he was able to give the team 19 solid minutes could be a good sign going forward.
The Owls led 14-5 with just under 12 minutes to go in the half. Freshman guard Marquan Botley hit a three-pointer, one of six he made throughout the night.
On the next possession, Sekelja rewarded teammate Pablo Bertone with a pass and, despite being fouled on the play, Bertone caught it and laid the ball in the basket.
After the free throw, FAU led 20-5 and their solid team defense kept the Crimson at bay. Starting point guard Marquan Botley hit two more three-point baskets just the before the half, and the Owls led 29-20 at halftime.
Harvard shot an abysmal 17 percent from the floor in the first half. The second half of play was initially a cold one for the Crimson, but a solid shooting night for FAU continued. After another three-pointer from Botley, the score stood at 45-28 with 13 minutes left in the game.
As awful as their offense looked, Harvard managed to crawl its way back into the game, trailing 48-43 with 5:30 remaining in the game. Botley claims the Owls were prepared for the move Harvard made to get back in the game.
“We knew they were going to make their run,“ he said. “We just had to stay poised and run our stuff.”
FAU responded with two solid offensive sets that doubled their late lead, increasing it from five to 10. One resulted in a three-pointer from the corner by guard Jackson Trapp and the other resulted in a layup by forward Justin Raffington.
The final score came out to 68-53 in favor of the Owls. Botley attributed the win to the toughness and confidence of his team.
“We came out tonight and had a chip on our shoulder, and I think it really worked out for us,” said Botley, who finished with a career-high 23 points.
Head coach Mike Jarvis echoed a similar sentiment in terms of toughness. “We should have won the other night, everyone in this room knows that. We didn’t have the toughness the other night that we had tonight.”
Jarvis, who at one point was an assistant at Harvard, found this win particularly gratifying.
“Tonight was a great victory for our kids and our program, and I think it justifies why we play the schedule we play,” he said.
Jarvis revealed that his history at Harvard also played a part in what made the triumph so fulfilling.
“I took this very personal,” Jarvis said. “I coached at Harvard, there was a time where I should have been the head coach at Harvard. So this was very, very personally satisfying.
Note: At halftime, new head football coach Charlie Partridge addressed the crowd. He first implored the student section, telling them to fill up the football stadium next fall, saying that they will have to lead the charge in terms of creating a positive atmosphere on gameday.
Partridge then turned to the other side of the arena, telling the alumni that not only should they come out to support the team, but also that the Owls will go toe to toe with anyone, including the Miami Hurricanes (who will come to Boca Raton to face FAU in 2015).
