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Florida Atlantic University Athletics
FAU Hosts UMKC Saturday Night
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2008
UMKC (1-2) @ Florida Atlantic (2-1)
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 - FAU Arena (5,000)
Boca Raton, FL - 7 p.m. ET
Radio: WFTL 640 AM
GAME #4: Saturday's 7 p.m. game versus UMKC is one of just two more home games left on Florida Atlantic's schedule until Sun Belt Conference play begins January 1st. The Owls (2-1) will be looking to pick up its second-straight win and improve to 3-1 for the first time in the school's Division I era (the only other time FAU has started the season 3-1 was in 1989-90 en route to a 21-7 season in Division II).
"TOYS FOR KIDS" $2 ADMISSION: Fans who bring an unwrapped toy to the game will receive $2 admission as part of FAU's "Toys for Kids" holiday drive. All toys and proceeds will be donated to a local children's hospital. Additionally, the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free t-shirt.
THE SERIES: The Kangaroos own a 2-1 all-time edge. Saturday's game marks the fourth meeting in three seasons between FAU and UMKC. The Owls dropped a 77-66 decision last season at UMKC on Nov. 26, 2008. The teams played twice during the 2006-07 season, a home-and-away series that saw UMKC winning in Kansas City 85-70 on Nov.11, 2006 and FAU claiming a 70-61 victory at 'The Burrow' on Dec. 23, 2006. The Owls played without Paul Graham III in last-season's loss to UMKC with Carlos Monroe scoring a game-high 26 and taking 17 of FAU's 50 shots.
TV/RADIO/INTERNET: All of FAU's regular-season games (home and away) will air live on commercial radio WFTL - 640 AM with additional audio links available via FAUSPORTS.com. Evan Cohen (play-by-play) will call Saturday's game on WFTL. Live play-by-play scoring via GAMETRACKER will be provided on FAU's official athletics website (FAUSPORTS.com).
GAME NOTES:
• Mike Jarvis (365-203 all-time record) is in his first season as FAU head coach.
• A victory would give FAU its first 3-1 start since 1989-90.
• Senior Paul Graham III needs just two points to reach 1,000 for his FAU career
• The Owls are coming off a 65-61 NIT win over Santa Clara in Tucson.
• FAU is picked to finish fourth in the SBC East Division, behind South Alabama, Western Kentucky and preseason league favorite Middle Tennessee St.
• The Owls are shooting 86% (38-of-44) from the free throw line this season.
• FAU boasts two senior starters in the backcourt - high-scoring guard Paul Graham III (14.0+ points per game in each of the past two seasons) and Carderro Nwoji (122 assists in 2007-08).
• FAU lost to UMKC 77-66 last season in Kansas City.
• Saturday's game is the second of just three non-conference home games on FAU's schedule.
• Following the game with UMKC, FAU will play two more games in the NIT Season Tip-Off: @ No. 21 Davidson Monday 8 p.m. ET and vs. James Madison Tuesday 5:45 p.m. ET.
• All-conference forward Carlos Monroe has missed the first three games due an eligibility issue.
PROBABLE STARTERS: (based on last game)
PG - #12 Carderro Nwoji [6-0, 175, Sr., Wichita, KS] -10.7 ppg/3.6 apg
Sun Belt's returning leader in assists
G - #25 Paul Graham III [6-5, 190, Sr., Philadelphia, PA] - 17.3 ppg/4.0 rpg
Has averaged 14+ points per game for two-straight seasons
G - #24 Xavier Perkins [6-4, 225, So., Delray Beach, FL] - 6.0 ppg/3.7 rpg
Averaged 15 points per game in FAU's two exhibition games
F - #3 Chris Watson [6-6, 210, Fr., Daytona Beach, FL] - 10.0 ppg/7.0 rpg
Originally recruited to play football at FAU, had 15 rebounds vs. Arizona on Monday
C - #40 Brett Royster [6-8, 220, So., Arlington, TX] - 8.7 ppg/2.3 rpg
Set FAU's freshman record for blocks (41) last season
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Mike Jarvis has guided the Owls to a 2-1 start, which includes a 72-69 season-opening win against Monmouth and a 65-61 victory over Santa Clara on a neutral floor in Tucson, Arizona. Senior guard Paul Graham III is scoring a team-high 17.3 points per game. Point guard Carderro Nwoji is averaging 36 minutes per night running the offense. The freshmen tandem of forward Chris Watson and guard Shavar Richardson has been terrific in the season's early stages. Watson is FAU's leading rebounder (7.0 rpg) and Richardson is scoring 11.7 points and clearing 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench. FAU has been without all-conference forward and the program's all-time leading rebounder Carlos Monroe. The 6-foot-8 forward from Philadelphia has missed the first three games due an eligibility issue.
UMKC: The Roos (1-2) are under the direction of second-year head coach Matt Brown. UMKC was 11-21 in Brown's first season in 2007-08 and 6-12 in The Summit League. With a pair of returning starters, including 6-foot-4 senior forward Dane Brumagin - 17.1 ppg in 2007-08 - and 6-foot sophomore guard Reggie Hamilton - 11.7 ppg in 2007-08 - the Roos are picked to finish sixth in the 10-team The Summit League this season. Hamilton made four 3-pointers and scored 22 in a 61-56 season-opening loss to North Dakota. Brumagin scored 12 to lead UMKC to a 66-63 road win over Wichita State last Saturday.
NEXT HOME GAME: Saturday, December 13 at 7 p.m. vs. SE Louisiana. For tickets or more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
NEXT UP: Florida Atlantic will play No. 21 Davidson at the Wildcats' John M. Belk Arena Monday, November 24 at 8 p.m. ET. Davidson was chosen as a consolation round site in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, where FAU will also face James Madison Tuesday, November 25 at 5:45 p.m. ET. Despite a career-high 44 points from All-America candidate Stephen Curry, No. 21 Davidson (2-1) fell 82-78 at No. 12 Oklahoma Tuesday night in its second round game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament. Davidson soundly beat James Madison (1-1) 99-64 in the NIT's opening-round. The JMU Dukes bounced back by posting a 62-54 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday.
LAST TIME OUT: Paul Graham III made a pair of clutch shots, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to give Florida Atlantic a 65-61 victory over Santa Clara in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament in Tucson, AZ. Graham's late-game heroics allowed FAU (2-1) to overcome a dominant second-half performance by Santa Clara center John Bryant, who finished with a game-high 25. Shavar Richardson scored a team-best 17 for Florida Atlantic.
TWO SHY OF 1,000: Paul Graham III needs just two points to reach 1,000 for his FAU career. Graham currently has 998 points and can move into sixth-place on FAU's all-time scoring list if he can score at least four against UMKC. Graham would become the seventh player in school history to have reached the 1,000-point plateau. Teammate Carlos Monroe ranks fifth all-time with 1,191 points.
BALL CONTROL: Senior point guard Carderro Nwoji has turned the ball over just twice in FAU's first three games. Amazing considering his is playing 36 minutes per night. He went without a turnover in 35 minutes in FAU's win over Monmouth, had just one in 35 minutes against Arizona and played the entire 40 minutes against Santa Clara while only committing one turnover.
OFF AND RUNNING: FAU is attempting to start a season 3-1 for the first time in its Division I era (since 1994-95). The best start in program history was 10-2, belonging to the 1989-90 Division II team which finished a with a school-best 21-7 record.
FREE THROW SHOOTING: FAU has been exceptional from the free throw line, shooting 86% (38-for-44) as a team this season.
A DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE: FAU held Santa Clara to 61 points, something that was only done three times last season. Through three games the Owls are allowing opponents to score 67.3 per game - a marked improvement from giving up 74.1 per night a year ago which ranked 12th out of 13 teams in the Sun Belt.
ATHLETIC ADDITION: True freshman forward Chris Watson - who was also recruited to play football at FAU - has made immediate contributions. Watson was promoted to the starting lineup in Game 2 after going 5-for-5 with five rebounds in the season-opening win against Monmouth. Watson grabbed 15 rebounds against Arizona as a starter and then added eight points and had a two steals against SCU the next night.
ROYSTER SCORES CAREER-HIGH: Sophomore center Brett Royster went 4-for-5 from the field and finished with 12 points to help FAU beat Monmouth on Nov. 14. His previous career-high had been 10 points, doing so on two occasions last year.
HARD TO BEAT IN BOCA: FAU is 33-7 when playing at home spanning the past three seasons. The Owls were 11-4 in Boca Raton and 7-3 versus SBC teams in 2007-08. Included in FAU's 11-4 home record last season was a seven-game winning-streak from Jan. 12, 2008 - Feb. 20, 2008.
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Forward
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