MIAMI (Nov. 27, 2011) -- Senior Jeremy Allen drained the biggest shot of his basketball career with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to give FIU (2-3) a 64-62 win over previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina (5-1) on Saturday, Nov. 26, at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

With the game tied at 62-all, Coastal Carolina's Anthony Raffa missed a 12-foot jump shot with seven seconds left. Junior Tola Akomolafe grabbed his sixth rebound of the night and quickly got the ball to sophomore Phil Taylor. Taylor pushed the ball to Allen who drove the baseline and sank a pull-up jumper as time expired to hand the Chanticleers their first loss of the season.

Allen led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point land. The Detroit, Mich., native led FIU with four steals and was the defending player on Raffa's missed shot. Also scoring in double-figures was Taylor, who posted 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. It marked the fifth-straight game the Marietta, Ga., native has scored in double figures. Senior DeJuan Wright (12 points) and sophomore Dominique Ferguson (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Panthers.

Ferguson's 10th point of the night was a crucial, game-tying layup with 41 seconds left in the contest. The Indianapolis, Ind., native led all Panthers with eight rebounds.

The Panthers finished the night shooting 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor and 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from 3-point range. Coastal Carolina finished the night shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (23-of-46) and was led Jon Pack, who poured in 14 points.

The Panthers held a 32-29 advantage in rebounding, while the Chanticleers scored 21 points off of 14 FIU turnovers.

With the victory, FIU has now won eight-straight home openers and improves to 197-155 at U.S. Century Bank Arena. 

The Panthers will travel to Atlanta, Ga., to take on the Georgia State Panthers on Thursday, Dec. 1. Game time is 7 p.m.

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 17 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters 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 and enrolls 46,000 students in two campus and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 17 sports. In 2010 the Panthers won their first bowl game. For more information about FIU, visit www.fiu.edu.

Game Notes

FIU handed Coastal Carolina its first loss of the season as senior Jeremy Allen hit the game-winning shot with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. With the win, the Panthers improve to 2-3 on the season while the Chanticleers fall to 5-1.

Tonight's victory marks Head Coach Isiah Thomas' 20th-career win and FIU's eighth-straight home-opening victory.

FIU now leads the all-time series with Coastal Carolina, 1-0, as tonight's meeting was the first-ever between the two schools. CCU is the second of six first-time opponents this season for FIU, as the Panthers are now 1-1 versus first-time foes on the year.

Dating back to Dec. 20, 2008, FIU has connected on at least one three-pointer in 89-straight contests. The Panthers converted their first three-pointer of the night just one minute into the contest as senior Jeremy Allen registered his first of three treys for the game.

Sophomore Phil Taylor netted 13 points versus CCU to mark his fifth-straight double-figure scoring game. Other Panthers in double-figures for the contest were: senior Jeremy Allen (13), senior DeJuan Wright (12) and sophomore Dominique Ferguson (10).

Senior Jeremy Allen notched four steals on the night to put his season total at 18 across five contests. Allen now ranks third in the nation in the steals-per-game category, averaging 3.6 swipes per contest. As a team, FIU tallied a season-best nine steals versus Coastal Carolina.

FIU returns to action on Dec. 1 as the Panthers travel to Atlanta, Ga., to take on Georgia State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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