Box Score TROY, Ala. (Oct. 20, 2012) – The FIU Panthers (1-7, 0-4 SBC) couldn't hold off the Troy Trojans (4-3, 3-2 SBC), falling on a 42-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the game on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
 
Quarterback Jake Medlock threw for 300 yards for the second-consecutive game and tossed three touchdowns to three different receivers (Willis Wright, Wayne Times, Glenn Coleman). Wright caught a career-high six balls for another career-high 129 yards. Kedrick Rhodes rushed for a team-high 83 yards on 18 carries. Winston Fraser led the defense with 13 total tackles (12 solo) and a sack.
 
After forcing the Trojans to punt on their opening drive, Panther quarterback Medlock led a five-play, 80-yard scoring drive, which resulted in a 33-yard touchdown to a wide open Coleman to jumpstart the FIU offense. This marks the first time in Coleman's career that he has caught a touchdown pass in two-consecutive games.
 
Troy responded later in the first quarter with its own 33-yard touchdown, a QB keeper by Dion Anthony to tie it up at 7-7.
 
On the next drive, Darian Mallary was able to punch it in from one-yard out to give FIU a 13-7 lead. With the converted Jack Griffin extra point, Griffin broke Adam Moss' (2002-05) all-time scoring record with his 234th-career point. Griffin broke the record in three seasons while Moss did it in four. The touchdown was set up by a 68-yard kick-off return by Richard Leonard to the Troy 27-yard line. Mallary has scored at least one touchdown in every game he's played in this season. 
 
After another Troy punt, Medlock continued to pick apart the Trojan secondary with a perfect ball over the middle to a wide open Wright for a 49-yard score. Wright, like Coleman, has scored a touchdown in two-consecutive games for the first time in his career. The TD gave the Panthers a 21-7 lead at the 1:54 mark in the first quarter.
 
After the Panthers scored, the Trojans marched down the field on a 75-yard drive, which ended in a seven-yard score from Anthony to Chip Reeves to cut the FIU lead to 21-14.
 
Early in the second half, the Trojans took advantage of a Medlock INT and moved to within three points of the Panthers on a 17-yard touchdown reception by Eric Thomas. The interception by Medlock was his first in 203 pass attempts (school record) dating back to the Louisiana game on Sept. 24, 2011.
 
The Panthers roared back after giving up the points off the turnover when Medlock found Times in the back of the endzone for a three-yard score. The scoring play was set up by a career-long reception of 56 yards by Nick England.
 
The defense joined the scoring brigade when defensive back Justin Halley scooped up a lateral and scampered 62 yards to paydirt for his first-career touchdown. Griffin drove the extra point home for a 37-21 lead at 7:57 in the third quarter. 
 
Johnathan Cyprien came up with a huge play, forcing FIU's second turnover of the game with his fifth-career interception to stall the Troy scoring drive just outside the redzone as the third quarter wound down. The Panthers couldn't capitalize on the turnover, going four-and-out after the pick.
 
After a personal foul penalty on FIU, the Trojans crept back into the game on an 11-yard TD reception by Thomas. The Panthers led the Trojans 27-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
A botched snap on a punt in the fourth quarter proved costly for the Panthers, as the Trojans capitalized on great field position as Anthony rushed for his second Troy touchdown of the game. The extra point closed the FIU lead to 37-35 with 9:57 left in the game.
 
With no timeouts and 1:08 left in the game, the Trojans drove 69 yards in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 38-37 lead on a 42-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to play. A last ditch effort by the Panthers on a series of laterals was unsuccessful, making the final score, 38-37, in favor of the Trojans.
 
The Panthers return to Miami for a game against WKU on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium. Kickoff with the Hilltoppers is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the FIU Sports Radio Network and ESPN3.
 
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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 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 nearly 48,000 students in two campuses 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. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu