Owls fall to Portland; Gantt & Tucker named to all tournament team

Florida Atlantic concluded play in the Athletes In Action Classic tonight, falling to host University of Portland 89-75 at the Chiles Center.

The Owls (2-1) kept matters close for most of the first frame, but cooled on both ends of the floor the latter portion of the period, as Portland assumed a 42-34 lead at the break.

A half-court heave at the buzzer by Ray Taylor was on the mark, silencing the crowd, and salvaging what could have been a double digit mark for the Pilots.

However, Portland (3-0) would increase the tempo in the second half, extending their lead to 21 late, before the Owls closed on an 8-2 run to end the contest.

FAU shot the best it has from long range this season at 37.9%, and had spurts of containment against the hot handed Pilots, holding them to 27.3% from beyond the arc in the first half.

But Portland was all over the glass, enjoying a 45-24 advantage.

“We got crushed on the boards”, said Coach Mike Jarvis. “Our big guys looked like they were playing tennis and we were supposed to be boxing.”

The Owls’ front court starters finished with just eight points and one rebound, while the Pilot’s equivalent in Luke Sikma and Kramer Knutson combined for 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting.

”Kore White and Brett Royster were nowhere to be found and we can’t win if those two guys don’t show up and play.”

Alex Tucker and Greg Gantt received all tournament honors, as FAU posted a 2-1 mark on the weekend.

“Positively, we won two and we played hard for the most part. The only disappointment is the big guys didn’t show up tonight”, said Jarvis.

Gantt led the Owls with a season high 20 points while Ray Taylor added 18.

FAU, who topped every opponent in turn over margin on the three game stint, only gave it up five times on the evening.

Florida Atlantic next faces Warner Southern on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at FAU Arena.

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