Box Score DeLand, Fla. (Dec. 9, 2012) – Led by a career-high 29 points by junior Malik Smith, the FIU men's basketball team (3-3) defeated the Stetson Hatters (2-6), 82-79, on Sunday, afternoon at the Edmunds Center in DeLand, Fla.

Smith, who shot 7-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, was one of five Panthers who reached double-figures in scoring. Sophomore Juan Ferrales had a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting while making his first-career start. Senior Gaby Belardo poured in 12 points (all in the second half). Freshman Jerome Frink shot 4-of-10 from the floor to record 11 points. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was junior Tymell Murphy, who posted 11 points and dishing out a career-best nine assists.

In a game that saw five ties and seven lead changes, FIU took its final lead of the contest on a 3-point play by Murphy 1:51 left in the game, 72-69. Stetson pulled within two points a couple of times in the final minute but, a three by Smith with 36 seconds left and four-straight FIU free throws in the final 25 seconds sealed the victory. 

For the game, FIU shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) and 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from beyond the arc. The Panthers also drained 22 attempts from the free-throw line, shooting 68.8 percent. 

The Panthers entered halftime with a 36-31 lead, shooting 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the floor. Smith led all players with 10 points in the first 20 minutes, extending his streak of consecutive game scoring in double-figures to six games.

The Hatters shot 50.9 percent from the floor (29-of-57) but committed 16 turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the Panthers. Stetson held a 35-30 edge on the boards, scoring 46 points in the paint.

The win marked the fifth-straight for FIU over Stetson and improved the Panthers to 2-1 on the road this season.

The Panthers will next travel to Ft. Myers, Fla., to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Thursday, Dec. 13. Game time is7:05 p.m. ET.

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