Western Kentucky Hilltoppers @ Florida Atlantic Owls Basketball Recap
Western Kentucky 57, Florida Atlantic 53
On a Saturday filled with revolts and uprisings – and we’re not just talking about the events in Cairo, Egypt – the boys from Florida Atlantic couldn’t escape the peasants-with-pitchforks flavor that infused the world of college basketball.
On a day when Bucknell from the Patriot League lost its first league game and the same fate befell Saint Mary’s (CA) in the West Coast Conference, the Sun Belt staged its own little revolution on the hardwood. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers snapped the Florida Atlantic Owls’ bid to remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play at FAU Gymnasium in Boca Raton, Florida. The loss dropped East Division-leading Florida Atlantic to 8-1 on the season. The Hilltoppers improved to an even 4-4 in the conference after the upset road victory.
The two squads could not have shot the ball more diversely in this Sunshine State showdown. Florida Atlantic could never find an offensive rhythm all evening. The Owls shot under 30 percent in the first half and needed a strong rally to get back into the contest in the second half. The Hilltoppers led by 12 points at the half. Only up 49-48 late in the second half after an FAU push, head coach Ken McDonald’s Hilltoppers responded with a quick 6-0 burst to create much-needed breathing room and eventually put the game out of reach. Steffphon Pettigrew had 18 points for the victors, while Sergio Kereusch added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Western Kentucky.
The Owls were led by Brett Royster’s 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Raymond Taylor added 14 points of his own. The Owls came out firing in the second half, cutting a double-digit Western Kentucky to just two points with just a few minutes gone by in the half. However, FAU couldn’t sustain that energy and lacked the same level of ball movement and floor spacing it possessed in earlier Sun Belt triumphs. Western Kentucky got in the Owls’ faces and bodied FAU on screens and cuts. The extra degree of physicality clearly disrupted the rhythm and flow that Florida Atlantic has enjoyed in its halfcourt offense this season.
Want to stage a palace coup against the leader of the pack in your backyard? Get angry on defense – that’s what Western Kentucky did to revive a flagging season and shake up the Sun Belt on a crazy college basketball Saturday.
Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer
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