GAME 28: FIU vs. UTSA
Thursday, February 23, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 6-21, 2-12 C-USA
Last Game: L, 77-61 at Louisiana Tech, February 18, 2017
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 149-167/10th season
Record at FIU: 50-73/Fourth season
Top Players: Donte McGill (19.0 ppg, 43.9% FG), Michael Kessens (13.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg)       
 
UTSA ROADRUNNERS
Record: 11-16, 6-8 C-USA
Last Game: L, 83-73 at North Texas, February 18, 2017
Head Coach: Steve Henson
Alma Mater: Kansas State, 1990
Career Record: 11-16/First season
Record at school: Same
Top Players: Jeff Beverly (16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Nick Billingsley (11.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: PantherVision (CUSA-TV)
Josh Appel (Play-by-play)
Pete Pelegrin (Color Commentary)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: FIU leads, 4-3
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: For ticket information, contact the FIU athletic ticket office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263). Single game tickets start at just $10.
 
QUICK HITS
- The FIU men's basketball team tips off its final homestand of the 2016-17 season on Thursday, Feb. 23, when UTSA visits Lime Court at FIU Arena ... Game time is slated for 7 p.m. ... Fans who can't make it to the game can catch all of the action live on PantherVision (CUSA-TV) with Josh Appel calling all the action and Pete Pelegrin providing color commentary ... Following Thursday, the Panthers will play their final home game of the year on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. against UTEP. 
 
- FIU is coming off a 77-61 loss to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 18 in Ruston ... Donte McGill led FIU with 20 points, while Michael Kessens added 18 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.
 
- McGill leads the team in scoring through 27 games, averaging 19.0 points-per-contest ... Kessens is averaging 13.4 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 9.2 rebounds-per-outing ... His rebounding average is tops in Conference USA ... Eric Nottage is also in double figures, netting 11.4 points-per-game.
 
- Anthony Evans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Panthers, and his 10th season overall ... FIU's game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15 was Evans's 300th of his head coaching career.
 
UP NEXT FOR FIU
- Following Thursday's game against UTSA, the Panthers return to Lime Court at FIU Arena to close out their 2016-17 home slate during Senior Night on Feb. 25 against UTEP (7 p.m.).
 
- The Panthers close out the regular season at Middle Tennessee on March. 2 (7:30 p.m. ET) and at UAB on March 4 (8 p.m. ET).
 
SCOUTING UTSA
- UTSA enters its game with FIU on Thursday  with an 11-16 record on the year and a 6-8 mark in Conference USA ... After winning seven-of-nine games from Dec. 10 through Jan. 14 - ending with a 57-55 win over the Panthers in San Antonio - the Roadrunners have won just two of their last nine games. 
 
- Jeff Beverly leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.0 points-per-game and 6.0 rebounds-per-contest ... Nick Billingsley is the only other player averaging double-figure points for UTSA, netting 11.1 points-per-outing ... Byron Frohnen is the Roadrunners' top rebounder, grabbing 6.9 boards-per-game.
 
- FIU and UTSA have met just seven times all-time, with the Panthers leading the all-time series, 4-3 ... The Panthers are 1-2 in the all-time series at home, however FIU won two of the three games played in San Antonio ... FIU is 1-0 in neutral site games ... The Panthers are winners of their last three out of four games against the Roadrunners.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST UTSA
- The Panthers dropped a  57-55 decision to UTSA on Jan. 14 in San Antonio ... Elmo Stephen scored a game- and a then career-high 21 points in 31 minutes of action ... Michael Kessens and Eric Nottage netted 17 and 13 points, respectively in the loss.
 
- The Panthers trailed by as many as 15 points in the game - and 13 points with less than 16 minutes left.
 
- but made a comeback to take the lead by as many as three points, 55-52, with 3:52 left in the game before being outscored 5-0 during the remainder of the contest.
 
- The Panthers shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field, and just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from behind the three-point arc ... FIU shot 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the charity stripe.
 
- UTSA outscored FIU 12-2 in bench scoring and 24-20 in the paint in the loss.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU is coming off a 77-61 loss to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 16 in Ruston ... Donte McGill scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line ... Michael Kessens also added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.