FAU defeated Louisiana Tech in convincing fashion, 69-61, behind a big game from Xavian Stapleton.

The Owls (13-9, 4-5 Conference USA) took their first lead of the game with 13:33 to go in the first half and didn’t look back, holding on to the advantage over the Bulldogs (15-7, 5-4 C-USA) for the rest of the night.

The Owls had four double-digit scorers tonight, including Stapleton, who had 19 points and nine rebounds. Big man Karlis Silis had a double-double, scoring 14 to go along with 10 rebounds. Guard Anthony Adger contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and 5 assists in a multi-faceted effort. Freshman Michael Forrest poured in 11 points and two three-pointers.

Silins was strong defensively and in the paint tonight as well.

“He went vertical and saved layup after layup when their guards were at the rim,” May said of Silis. “And their guards live in the paint, so if you have a big guy that can change that many shots in which Karlis and Sim did tonight, it saves baskets. And for us to hold a team that talented to 51, is a testament to the rim protection by our bigs.”

The Owls didn’t shoot the ball particularly well tonight (35.7 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from deep) but were able to outplay the Bulldogs defensively in order to get the victory tonight.

FAU’s next matchup will be against Southern Mississippi on Saturday afternoon at the Burrow. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.

Colby Guy is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @thatguycolbs