MIAMI (Feb. 9, 2012) --- An 11-0 run midway through the second half proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome as FIU (7-16, 4-7 SBC) fell to the North Texas Mean Green (14-10, 7-4 SBC), 68-61, on Thursday, Feb. 9, at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Led by sophomore Phil Taylor (16 points) and senior DeJuan Wright (13 points), the Panthers suffered their seventh-straight home loss and third-straight to the Mean Green. Taylor shot 5-of-14 from the floor, draining a game-high four treys. Wright was also 5-of-14 from the floor. The Detroit, Mich., native also grabbed seven boards, notched four steals and registered a career-high five assists.

Sophomore Dominique Ferguson led all Panthers with eight rebounds. The Indianapolis, Ind., native also scored six points on the night, while senior Jeremy Allen tallied three steals versus the Mean Green to improve his league-leading total to 62 for the season.

The Mean Green, which out-shot the Panthers, 45.1 percent to 35.9 percent, was led by Tony Mitchell, who posted the game's only double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Also scoring in double-figures for North Texas were Alzee Williams (16 points) and Brandan Walton (15 points).

North Texas held a 44-30 advantage on the boards while limiting FIU to just 5-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc (22.7 percent).

Both teams made 23 field goals and five 3-pointers, while North Texas converted seven more free-throw attempts, resulting in the seven-point victory. FIU went 10-of-13 from the line, while the Mean Green drained 17-of-25 from the charity stripe.  

FIU will host the Denver Pioneers on Saturday, Feb. 11. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET. Prior to the men's contest, the women's team with face the Pioneers at 5:30 p.m. ET. For FIU men's and women's basketball ticket information, call the FIU ticket office at 305-FIU-GAME or long onto www.FIUSports.com.

Game Notes

-With tonight's loss, FIU falls to 7-16 overall and 4-7 in Sun Belt Conference action. The setback marks the Panthers' third-straight loss to the Mean Green and NT now owns an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series. The loss also marks FIU's seventh-straight home loss.

- Senior Jeremy Allen recorded seven points on the night, falling three shy of reaching 1,000 points for his NCAA career. In addition, Allen registered three steals to put his single-season total at 62 swipes, moving him into sixth place on the FIU single-season steals chart.

- Sophomore Phil Taylor opened the game with a three-pointer to extend FIU's streak of consecutive contests with at least one trey to 107 games. The streak dates back to Dec. 20, 2008. The Panthers finished the contest with a 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) mark from beyond the arc, led by Taylor's four threes.

- A pair of Panthers reached double-figures in scoring against NT, led by sophomore Phil Taylor's 16 points, as he notched a career-high-tying four three-pointers on the night. Senior DeJuan Wright also reached double-digits in scoring with 13 points, also contributing a career-high five assists.

- Freshman Gilles Dierickx led FIU in blocks with a career-high four stops on the evening.

- FIU shot 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor in comparision to 45.1 percent (23-of-51) shooting for NT, marking the first time in six games that the opposition has posted a higher shooting percentage.

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 bachelor's, master's 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 in17 sports. In 2010 the Panthers won their first bowl game. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.

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