DEKALB, Ill. (Dec. 19, 2015) – The FIU men's basketball team headed to the Midwest, for the first game of a two-game road trip, looking to end a four-game skid and get back on the winning track. The Panthers, however, walked out of the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center with an outcome as cold as the 29-degree DeKalb air, as the Huskies handed FIU a heartbreaking 78-75 double overtime loss Saturday afternoon.
 
The Panthers (4-7), got 23 points from Donte Mcgill – all coming in the second half and overtime – and a career-high 15 points from Elmo Stephen, in just his second game with FIU, but that wasn't enough. Kimar Williams also added a career-high 13 points and Daviyon Draper chipped in with 10 points. Draper also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his second career double-double with the Panthers.
 
FIU's leading scorer, Adrian Diaz, played just 17 minutes in the game, and scored just seven points, after finding himself in foul trouble. He fouled out of the contest with 5:29 left in regulation.
 
The Panthers got off to a fast start, leading by as many as nine points, 13-4, on a layup by Diaz with 12:37 left in the half, only to have the Huskies (8-2) use a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to tie the game at 13-all on a three-point play by Chuks Iroegbu. Draper would end the scoreless streak with a layup with 7:18 left in the first stanza to knot the game, again, at 15-all.
 
After the Huskies took a one-point advantage, the Panthers regained the lead on the first of two free throws by Jason Boswell, and two free throws by Eric Nottage. FIU held the lead for the rest of the half, entering the intermission with a two-point advantage, 27-25.
 
Northern Illinois would come out and score 14 of the first 21 points of the second half to take, what would be at that time, its biggest lead of the game, 38-32 with 15:30 left on the clock. The Huskies would eventually push the lead to a game-high nine points, 43-34, with 10:51 left in regulation.
 
FIU would not back down, despite the deficit, as it used a 16-6 run to get back into the game and eventually take the lead, 50-49, on a three-point shot by Mcgill with 4:28 left on the clock. The 16-point run would be powered by Mcgill who had 10 points and Stephen who added six.
 
Neither team led by more than two points the rest of regulation, until Marin Maric hit two free throws to give NIU a three-point advantage, 58-55, with 18 seconds left. FIU then took the inbounds pass and went the length of the court, getting the ball into Stephen's hands who drained a 25-foot trey, off an assist from Nottage with four seconds left.
 
The Huskies' Michael Orris would get a look a three-pointer with time running out, only to have the shot miss.
 
In the first overtime session, the Panthers would get seven of its nine points by way of the charity stripe, going 7-of-8 from the line, including Mcgill's made free-throw with five seconds left to put FIU up 67-65. Northern Illinois' Travon Baker had other ideas, however, as drove the ball into the lane and hit a layup with 0.5 seconds left in the clock to tie the game at 67-all.
 
After the 13th tie of the game, Draper gave the Panthers their final lead of the day, hitting the second of a two-shot free throw opportunity, with 2:24 left, to put FIU up 72-71. The Huskies, however, would score seven of the final 10 points in the second overtime en route to the win.
 
FIU finished the game shooting 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field.
The Panthers now head to the Empire State to take on Binghamton on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. in Vestal, N.Y., their final game before a short holiday break.
 
FIU will return to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. when it closes out its non-conference schedule against Florida A&M.
 
For men's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUHoops on Twitter, and "Like" FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUMensBBall) for the latest Panther basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
#####
 
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.