LAFAYETTE, La. – More than 700 miles from Bowling Green, turnout was expectedly low.

Attendance for Western’s men’s quarterfinal match-up with Florida-Atlantic Sunday night was officially listed at 556, nearly all of which were friends and family members.

A’Darius Pegues, a redshirt freshman for the Toppers, did his best to ignite the crowd and positioned himself amongst the most animated of the Florida-Atlantic cheering section.

The cavernous Cajundome seats 12,068.

Hardcore fans make trip

Though their team’s chances were slim, six Florida Atlantic fans drove the 935 miles from Boca Raton, Fla., to Lafayette in 13 hours to see the No. 6 seeded Owls fall to Western 86-81 on Sunday.

With their school’s band, mascot and cheerleaders missing, all six were in full gear, face paint and the Owls’ mascot’s head.

“Win or lose, it doesn’t matter,” Florida Atlantic student Sam Rosenfeld said. “We came here to have fun and support our team.”

Parody in men’s tourney

The four men’s quarterfinal games on Sunday were decided by seven points or fewer, and featured two upsets. South Alabama, the No. 1 seed fell to No. 8 Middle Tennessee 63-60 in overtime.

North Texas, the No. 5 seed, held off No. 4 Louisiana-Monroe 77-71 in overtime in the second game of the afternoon.

Women’s crowd spirit also lacking

Like the men’s games, the atmosphere was somewhat lacking from poor turnout. The small crowd made its presence known with very vocal support.

The games were low in student presence as many of the schools’ classes resumed on Monday.

Reach the reporters at sports@wkuherald.com.