Box Score CONWAY, S.C. (Nov. 24, 2012) – With four Panthers in double-figures, including junior Malik Smith, who posted a career-best 21 points, the FIU men's basketball team (1-2) defeated Coastal Carolina (2-3), 87-77, on Saturday evening at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. The win resulted in the first home loss of the season for CCU and marked the first-career win for Head Coach Richard Pitino.
 
"I really liked the team's focus all week leading up to tonight's game," Pitino said. "I knew we would play well and play hard. I think the guys were disappointed in the way that they played against Stephen F. Austin. So, I loved the focus level. I am very pleased with the team. I thought they gave a great overall effort."
 
Smith led all Panthers in scoring with the first 20-point outing of his FIU career. The Boston, Mass., native converted 7-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Junior Tymell Murphy notched 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while sophomores Joey De La Rosa and Juan Ferrales each notched 10 points on the night.  
 
"Tymell Murphy responded great for us in the second half and Malik Smith has just been really solid for us this season," Pitino said. "Joey De La Rosa gave us a lot too. I was really happy overall."
 
In a game which went back and forth with eight lead changes through the first 10 minutes, a layup by Murphy with 9:33 left in the first half gave the Panthers a lead at 18-17. FIU increased its lead, out-scoring the Chanticleers, 19-14, in the final 10 minutes of the first stanza to enter halftime with a six-point lead.
 
The Panthers came out of the break on fire, extending their lead to 50-35 following a trey by senior Tola Akomolafe at the 17-minute mark of the second half. The El Paso, Texas, native finished the night with seven points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
A layup by Coastal Carolina's Warren Gillis cut the FIU lead to 55-49 with 12:10 left to play. But the Panthers fought off the Chanticleers' attempt at a comeback as that would be the closest the score would get. FIU made the most of its free-throw attempts in the second half, converting 18-of-23 from the charity stripe en route to the team's first win of the season. 
 
"We did a lot of really good things tonight," Pitino said. "We started to turn the ball over a little bit against their press. However, we settled down a bit and then finished strong."
 
On the night, FIU shot 52.7 percent from the floor (29-of-55) and was 8-of-20 (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Panthers made 21-of-26 shots from the free-throw line (80.8 percent) led by sophomore Deric Hill, who was a perfect 4-of-4. The Miami native finished the night with seven points and a team-high five assists.
 
Defensively, the Panthers forced 20 Coastal Carolina turnovers, resulting in 21 points for FIU. The Panthers also held the Chanticleers to 25.0 percent (4-of-16) shooting from 3-point land. CCU ended the night shooting 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the floor.
 
"We really stress the importance of guarding the 3-point line," Pitino said. "Fans get so excited when you hit a 3-point shot and I think it changes the momentum of the game. We put a lot of stock in it in the scouting report."
 
The Chanticleers held a 35-29 edge on the boards and a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint. However, the Panthers' bench came up big, producing 26 points to just 14 for CCU's reserves.
 
With the win, FIU improves to 2-0 all-time versus Coastal Carolina and snaps a two-game losing skid to start the season.
 
"It feels great," Pitino said. "When you start off 0-2 it seems like a win is far away. But I am just happy for these guys. I'm happy for our staff. We worked very hard all summer to lead to something like this and hopefully we can build off of it."      
 
The Panthers will head home to U.S. Century Bank Arena to host the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Thursday, Nov. 29. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUMensBBall on Twitter, and "Like" FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIU-Mens-Basketball) 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). 
 
For FIU men's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log on to www.FIUSports.com.
 
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 50,000 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