Box Score HOUSTON, Texas (Dec. 22, 2012) – A 16-2 run to close out the first half, gave the FIU men's basketball team (4-5) a lead it would not relinquish as the Panthers defeated the Texas Southern Tigers (1-11), 48-45, on Saturday afternoon at the H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas.

The Panthers held the Tigers to a shooting percentage of 29.1 percent (16-of-55) for the game (a season-best for FIU), while holding TSU to well below their season scoring average of 65.5 points-per-game.

FIU was led by Jerome Frink, who posted a team-high 14 points and six rebounds. The Jersey City, N.J., native shot 6-of-9 from the floor and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Redshirt sophomore Marco Porcher Jimenez set a career-mark in points with 12 and tied a career-high in rebounds with three versus the Tigers. The native of Malaga, Spain, made 4-of-9 shots from the floor and converted 3-of-3 attempts from the charity stripe in 14 minutes of action. 

FIU fell behind by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the 16-2 run gave the Panthers a 28-23 edge heading into halftime. Senior Gaby Belardo led all Panthers with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, while Frink grabbed a team-high five boards in the first 20 minutes. Despite shooting 38.5 percent in the first half, the FIU defense held the Tigers to just 28.1 percent from the floor.

Despite the strong defensive effort by the Panthers, FIU shot just 36.0 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers converted 8-of-12 from the free-throw line, including 4-of-5 during the second half.

The Panthers held a 24-13 advantage in points in the paint, while TSU held a 17-9 edge in second-chance points. The Tigers out-rebound the Panthers by a slight margin (38-37), grabbing one more offensive board in the contest.

The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Panthers and improved FIU to 3-3 on the road this season. 

The Panthers will next head to Bowling Green, Ky., to take on Sun Belt Conference foe WKU on Thursday, Dec. 27. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

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).

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