Unhappy return
Mike Jarvis' return from a one-game suspension was not enough to spur Florida Atlantic to its first Sun Belt victory of the season. FAU fell to UALR 66-59.
Originally published on
1/29/2009
by
Marcus Nelson
BOCA RATON - Florida Atlantic had its regular coach back on the bench for Thursday’s game vs. Arkansas Little Rock.
The result was familiar as well as the Owls lost their 13th consecutive game, 66-59 to Arkansas Little Rock, despite the return of coach Mike Jarvis, who was back after serving a one-game suspension for receiving three technical fouls in last week’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
“I think it was a learning opportunity and learning experience for everybody, myself included,” Jarvis said of the suspension. “I preach and teach ‘choices and consequences’ and from Day One when I recruit and when I coach and that applies to me. I had a choice to make the other night and could have gone to the other end of the bench and had a drink of water and maybe said my prayers and I didn’t do that. As a result I was at the mercy of the whistle.”
Jarvis has kept a low-profile since the suspension handed down by the school kept him from coaching in FAU’s 62-60 loss to Arkansas State on Saturday.
Unlike in last week’s game when he was escorted from the floor by a campus policeman, Jarvis kept his emotions in check during the game. Jarvis didn’t get off the bench until 4 minutes into the game. When he did disagree with an officials’ call, kept the discussion brief.
“You have to make the right choices,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis may have been happy to return to the bench, but he wasn’t pleased with the result, which kept FAU winless in conference play.
After trailing 35-24 at halftime, the Owls narrowed the margin to 36-33 on a dunk by freshman forward Chris Watson with 16 minutes remaining in the game.
But the Trojans (15-6, 8-2) who have the best record in the Sun Belt Conference, scored the next 12 points to take control.
FAU (4-18, 0-10) attempted to mount a comeback and was able to cut the Trojans lead to four with 1:02 remaining.
But the Owls only points the rest of the way came from when Paul Graham, who had a game-high 22 points, made four-of-five free throws after he was fouled on successive possessions, including once while shooting a three-pointer. Graham's miss was the Owls' lone misfire in 18 attempts from the line.
FAU failed to make a field goal the final 6:13 of the game.
“Anytime you allow yourself to get behind, when you have to come back it takes a lot of energy,” Jarvis said. “When you come back, it takes a lot if energy, but when you get back you have to execute and perform.”
Game Rewind
Slam dunk: FAU lost the overall rebounding battle, but the much smaller Owls managed 13 offensive rebounds to UALR's 10... After coming off the bench for consecutive games, Paul Graham started and played all 40 minutes, scoring 22 points to lead all scorers. ...This may turn out to be the Owls' best free-throw shooting team ever.
Off the rim: The Owls were once again cold from behind the arc, making 4 of 18 (22%) from long distance. ...A 24-point first half left the Owls with another double-digit deficit to overcome. ...FAU's bench contributed seven points.
From the box score: If you are going to shoot poorly, you better play good defense. The Owls shot 31.7% on the night, while the Trojans connected on 54.2% of their shots - 60.9% in the first half.
Up next: FAU hosts Louisiana-Lafayette in the second half of a men's-women's doubleheader at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Final shot: Another tight game, another disappointing loss. With an announced attendance of 763 (that seemed greatly inflated) the Owls need a victory quickly before all but the most ardent basketball fans abandon The Burrow.