MIAMI– FIU men's basketball (1-0) kicked off the
Joey Cantens era on a high note with a resounding 101-58 win over NAIA New College of Florida on Monday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, with all 12 Panthers that checked in scoring at least one point in the win.
"Good first win. We're 1-0, so we're back to being undefeated," Cantens said. "The preseason was really good for us, playing three tough teams. To start 1-0 with a new group of 15 players is exciting. We scored 101 points, hit a lot of our targets and shot 35 threes. I think we also hit our offensive rebounding numbers. Overall, I'm excited about how the group looked."
While the outcome of the game was never in question - FIU led wire-to-wire and 52-18 at halftime - several Panthers got to endear themselves to Panther Nation for the first time.
Tijan Saine Jr. was as advertised, scoring 24 on 6-11 from three in his debut game, the lone Panther to be on the preseason all-conference squad.
"I'm just happy I could help [Coach Cantens]. I'm grateful he brought me in at such a late time when I needed it, and I'm blessed to be able to do what I do for all the fans," Saine said. "I'm happy we had a decent number of people come out, but I feel like it's only going to grow."
In his first D1 game,
Mason Blazer had a strong second half at the behest of Cantens - going 6-11 from the field and scoring 15. After being on the other side of Cantens at Florida SouthWestern, he got to play on his side for the first time.
"In the first half, I wasn't really there mentally, so I had to snap out of it and refocus," Blazer said. "I just needed to play harder, pay more attention to detail and give a better effort overall. I feel like that helped me in the second half. Knowing my teammates and being out there with them just makes the game easier."
Seydina N'Diaye (11 points, 6 reb., 2 blk.) and
Noah Mendy (11 points, 3-7 3FG) impressed in their first Division I action.
Jaylin Payne and
Justin Roman tied for the rebound lead with seven,
Corey Caulker dished seven assists and
Trey Beamer had nine points and four steals in his collegiate debut.
All 12 Panthers who checked in scored, the most number of Panthers to score in a game in program history. FIU opened its season with a win for the second consecutive year, doing so for the first time since the 2017-18 and 2018-18 season.
Cantens became the fifth FIU coach to win his debut.
Up Next
FIU plays the newest D1 team in West Florida for the first time on Friday at 5:00 p.m.
Season Tickets
For more information on FIU men's basketball tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the
FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office. Single-game tickets are available at
FIUSports.com/26MBBTix.
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@FIUHoops), X (
@FIUHoops), and Facebook (
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