LAFAYETTE, La.–On a day that saw two of the top four seeds in the head home early, the Toppers made sure their stay in Lafayette, La. would last at least another day.
Western’s season-long quest for maturity and poise came to fruition tonight, as the Toppers got several key baskets in the final minutes to hold off Florida Atlantic, 86-81, in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Western had nine players play at least 10 minutes, something coach Darrin Horn said was essential to the victory.
“Our depth played very well tonight,” he said. “We played with toughness and togetherness, and I can’t think of anybody that didn’t contribute in a positive way.”
The Toppers were led by junior guard Tyrone Brazelton, who scored 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and hit 8-of-9 free-throws.
Junior forward Courtney Lee scored 20 for the Toppers, who shot 52 percent for the game.
Western shot 80 percent from the free-throw line – a stat that proved to be vital in a game that featured a total of 45 fouls.
The Toppers attempted 17 free-throws in the second half alone, as several Western players converted at the line in the final minutes to maintain the lead.
Playing in many tightly contested games over the course of the season is what Lee said helped the Toppers keep their cool in the waning minutes.
“Being in those situations all year, and winning a majority of them, it gives us confidence and lets us keep our poise down the stretch,” he said. “We’ve been able to mature together and build chemistry, and we were all able to come out on the same page.”
Early turnovers kept both teams from building a substantial first-half lead, but the Owls converted 11 of 12 foul shots to take a 38-36 lead at halftime.
Three Florida Atlantic players reached double digits at the break, despite varying defenses from the Toppers.
Western went from man-to-man, to match-up zone, and back again, in hopes of keeping the Owls’ two leading scorers, senior guard DeAndre Rice and sophomore forward Carlos Monroe, in check.
In the previous meeting of the two teams, Monroe torched the Toppers for 26 points, mostly in the paint, to help beat Western 78-73 on Feb. 14 in Diddle Arena.
Monroe finished with 19 points, and Rice scored a game-high 30, but they admittedly found the road to the basket to be much more taxing than last time around.
“I got hot early, so they started to key on me, and I started to give the ball to Carlos down low,” Rice said. “It’s not just about me taking over. We try to run the offense and get everybody involved, but we just had too may ups and downs, we couldn’t get in the flow.”
Horn praised his team’s effort, saying the players followed the game plan both defensively and offensively.
“Rice and Monroe are the kind of guys who are going to get their average because they are going to get those kind of shots,” he said. “Our post guys stepped up huge tonight and they all fought hard. For Monroe to get just 11 shots, even though he had 19 points, was a great effort by our guys. I thought that was a big key to the game.”
The Toppers once again have the late game Monday as they take on No. 2 seed Arkansas State in the semifinals at 9 p.m.
Reach Ed Lukins at sports@wkuherald.com.
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