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Brett Royster crouches in disbelief after missing the potential game-winning shot in FAU's 52-51 loss to South Alabama. (FAUOwlAccess.com photo)

Quick exit

> South Alabama 52, FAU 51: FAU misses two close shots in the final seconds and falls to South Alabama Saturday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark.

Originally published on 3/6/2010

by Marcus Nelson

> Boxscore: Individual, team stats
> Audio: Jarvis, Royster, Hughley post-game
> Photo gallery: Scenes from Hot Springs, Ark.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – FAU couldn’t have asked for much of a better chance at a possible game-winning basket. Brett Royster had the ball in his hands a foot away from the basket.

Royster’s shot went up but didn’t go down, allowing South Alabama to escape with a 52-51 victory vs. FAU in the first-round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

“I wasn’t sure exactly how much time was on the clock, but I just put it up there too hard,” said Royster, who had 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. “I just keep playing it over and over in my head. If I would have taken a little bit off of it, it would have gone in.”

The Owls led 51-50 when South Alabama’s Bryan Sherrer made a jump shot with :04 remaining to give the Jaguars the lead.

FAU didn’t take a timeout and pushed the ball up to Alex Tucker, whose missed shot was grabbed by Roster.

Owls coach Mike Jarvis wanted Royster to go up strong instead of trying to lay it in.

“All Brett has to do is dunk the ball and we win,” Jarvis said. “Forget about a layup. Just dunk the ball period.”

Royster’s miss spoiled a comeback by the Owls that saw them erase a 14-point lead in the game’s last 12 minutes.

FAU took a 51-50 lead when Sanchez Hughley made 1-of-2 free throws with :26 remaining.

“We fought back, but just fell short,” Hughley said.

The Jaguars were led by 21 points from Scherrer, who was playing in his first game in three weeks after a knee injury.

“I thought it was a war out there,” said Jaguars coach Ronnie Arrow. “I don’t know if it was the best-played game ever, but this is what March Madness is all about.”

The loss, the second time in two seasons the Owls have lost in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, brought FAU’s season to a quick and unexpected close.

GameBrowser: South Alabama 52, FAU 51

Moving forward: Brett Rosyter had a double-double and six blocks. …Alex Tucker had six assists, …The Owls held a 50-34 rebounding advantage.

Moving backward: FAU shot 20 percent (6-of-30) from the field in the first half. …Greg Gantt was 5-of-20 from the field and 2-of-12 from behind the arc. …Shavar Richardson was 0-for-4 from the field and had no points.

GameCenter: The Owls scored a season-low 19 points in the first half.

Up Next: FAU’s season is over. The Jaguars play to-seeded Troy at 6:45 p.m. Sunday

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Sun Belt Tournament : FAU vs. South Alabama…Owls starters Taylor, Gantt, Tucker, Hughley, Royster
Sun Belt Tournament : FAU 7, USA2 @ 1st half <16 media timeout…Taylor’s got five points and USA is out of sync offensively
Sun Belt Tournament : FAU 10, USA 7 @ 1st half <12 media timeout…Scoreboard is on the fritz here. That should give FAU a home-court advantage.
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 19, FAU 12 @ 1st half <8 media timeout…Not looking good. Gantt is 0-6 from field and Taylor just shot a 21-foot airball.
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 21, FAU 16 @ 1st half <4 media timeout…Williams already has 12 for the Jags. Owls shooting 20.8 percent from field
Halftime: South Alabama 30, FAU 19…Jags’ Scherrer gets a 4-point play just before buzzer.
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 32, FAU 25 @ 2nd half <16 media timeout…Hughley can’t go to start second half. McCoy starts in his place
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 42, FAU 28 @ 2nd half <12 media timeout…Gantt and Taylor are a combined 5-for-23 from field and 2-for-12 from behind arc
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 46, FAU 40 @ 2nd half <8 media timeout…Owls showing some fight here and have cut it to a 2-possesion game
Sun Belt Tournament : USA 50, FAU 43 @ 2nd half <4 media timeout…FAU is getting shots to finally fall, but it won’t matter if they can’t get a stop or two down the stretch
FINAL: South Alabama 52, FAU 51…Owls get chances at bucket late, but ball falls off rim and Owls lose. Season over