After splitting two games in Texas last weekend, the FAU basketball team came home to host Tulsa on Feb. 20.

Tulsa went on an 11-3 run to start the game, forcing head coach Mike Jarvis to call a timeout. The Owls countered after the timeout, cutting the deficit to five early.

With 6:42 left to go into the first half, Tulsa still led 20-14 behind a very balanced scoring led by sophomore forward Rashad Smith who had eight points to lead all scorers.

Tulsa went on a 12-0 run to gain its largest lead of the game at 32-14. The scoring drought by the Owls was stopped by center Dragan Sekelja.The Golden Hurricanes took a commanding 16 point lead to the locker room, 34-18.

FAU finished the half shooting just six of 24 (25%) from the field and 1-9 from the 3-point line in the first half.

The Owls scored on their first play coming out of halftime on a layup by Pablo Bertone, who was fouled in the process. Tulsa scored five straight points to push their lead back to 18.

A 3-pointer by Owl guard Marquan Botley with 14:40 to go cut Tulsa’s lead to 15, but this was the closest the owls ever got.

In the end, the Owls were unable to shake off their poor shooting night, while the Hurricanes, led by 27 points from sophomore guard James Woodard, cruised to a comfortable 71-52 win.

Coach Jarvis was full of praise for the Hurricanes overall play tonight.

“Right now they are probably playing the best basketball than anybody in the conference, and they are doing it in a very systematic way. They defend very well, and they just don’t make a whole lot of mistakes.”

Jarvis will be hoping that his team can bounce back and improve when they meet North Texas on Saturday in the Burrow.

Rodolphe Ganthier is a contributor to the University Press. He can be reached at [email protected].