Louisiana hasn’t been kind to the men of FAU Basketball this year. The Owls (10-19) were completely outclassed by Louisiana Tech in an 84-64 loss on Jan. 9 and fell by a score of 72-64 to Tulane (17-13) on Feb. 26.

Florida Atlantic shot 80 percent from the field in the opening minutes and secured an early lead as Tulane struggled to find their way offensively.

Despite shooting 59 percent for the half (Tulane shot just 23 percent), FAU headed to halftime up 31-23. Guard Pablo Bertone scored 16 of the 31 points in the half.

Not even two minutes into the second half, a 7-0 Tulane run shaved the FAU lead down to just three. Tulane took a 46-45 lead with 15:49 remaining and the teams traded baskets. Tulane opened up a 52-45 lead later in the half and would not relinquish their advantage.

Tulane makes the fourth consecutive loss for the Owls, who finish their season with consecutive home games versus Southern Miss (23-5) and Florida International (13-15).

The Owls lost the rebounding battle 43-30 on the night. Bertone scored 28 points overall, but received very little help from his teammates — no other Owl scored in double figures. Tulane’s first four leading scorers had 65 points on the night — only one more than the entire FAU squad managed.

It’s of note that center Dragan Sekelja made his first start of the year versus Tulane after battling back issues since mid-January. The Croatian-born senior scored two points and grabbed five rebounds. For an unspecified reason, forward Kelvin Penn did not fly with the team to New Orleans.

Wesley Wright is the Sports Editor of the University Press. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NotEvenWes.