| FRISCO, Texas – The No. 1 seed out of the Conference USA West Division needed everything it had to get past the East Division No. 4 seed Florida Atlantic University Thursday night at The Star. Louisiana Tech scored the final six points of the game and squeezed out a six-point victory, 75-69, over the Owls. FAU’s season ends with a 13-10 overall record, while the Bulldogs advance to the C-USA Championship Tournament semifinals and are now 21-6. The Owls were in position to advance to the semifinals themselves. FAU grabbed a 67-64 lead with four minutes remaining. In a tie game, La. Tech big man and C-USA Freshman of the Year Kenneth Lofton Jr. fouled Karlis Silins for his fourth foul and earned a technical foul to boot, disqualifying him with his fifth foul. Michael Forrest knocked down the two technical foul free throws and Silins made one of two, giving FAU a three-point edge. Back-to-back Isaiah Crawford buckets, including a free throw on a 3-point play, put the Bulldogs in front 69-67 with 2:32 remaining. Silins scored on the next offensive possession for FAU to tie the game at 69-69. But the Owls wouldn’t score again. Crawford hit a pair of free throws with 1:24 left to put Louisiana Tech in front 71-69. FAU had an opportunity to take the lead, but Kenan Blackshear’s 3-point attempt was no good. Blackshear responded with a steal and drew a foul, but the front end of a one-and-one situation was no good. The Bulldogs converted four free throw attempts to close out the victory. Forrest was on fire in the first half, scoring 17 points on five 3-pointers. He finished with a game-high 22 points. Crawford led the way for Louisiana Tech with 21. Jailyn Ingram and Silins were also in double figures for the Owls with 15 and 12, respectively. The first half was a game of offensive spurts for both squads and featured that dead-eye shooting from the Owls’ Forrest. FAU jumped out to a quick 6-2 advantage. The Owls held an 18-16 advantage midway through the half, but Louisiana Tech put together its first big offensive outburst to grab a nine-point advantage. An 11-0 run for the Bulldogs put them on top 27-18 with 7:20 to go. But Forrest, who hit five 3-pointers in the first half, hit three of them over the next four minutes. That sparked an 18-4 spurt for FAU, giving the Owls their biggest lead of the half, 36-31. Louisiana Tech landed the final punch in the first half, outscoring FAU 6-0 to grab a one-point edge, 37-36, at the intermission. Quoting Coach May FAU Head Coach Dusty May On his team’s performance: “I’m very proud of our effort. We didn’t play nearly as well as we’re capable of. We left a lot of points on the floor that I know we all wish we could have back. But hats off to them. Crawford made plays. They got him the ball down the stretch. I thought we did an unbelievable job on Lofton. Crawford made plays, late shot-clock 3’s … and then us not being able to capitalize on transition opportunities, that led to runouts in the other direction really hurt.” On Michael Forrest: “Mike played very, very well. He competed at a high level, did a lot of great things. When he’s shooting like that, he demands so much attention, it opens up lanes and avenues for the other guys. I’m very proud of Mike’s growth. He continues to get better on both sides of the ball. He continues to add new things to his game and he’s a force, he’s a threat. He’s someone that should go down as one of the best ever to put on an Owl uniform.” On his team’s standing in C-USA: “We definitely have earned respect. We belong. People don’t – I don’t want to say they fear us – but they know they’re gonna get a battle whenever they have Florida Atlantic on their schedule. Now, it’s time for us as a program to take the next step forward and start winning all of our home games and start finding ways to win at least half of our road games. That’s the recipe for success in this league. We’re on the verge. We’re on the cusp.” |
