TROY, Ala. (Feb. 2, 2012) --- Senior DeJuan Wright scored 16 of his 18 total points in the second half to help lift the FIU men's basketball team (6-15, 3-6 SBC) to a 63-50 win over the Troy Trojans (7-14, 2-8 SBC) on Thursday, Feb. 2, at Sartain Hall.

Wright posted his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. It marked the Detroit, Mich., native's second-straight double-double. Wright shot 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line. Junior Cameron Bell fell one rebound shy of his first-career, double-double, scoring 10 points and registering nine rebounds. Bell had a strong second half, scoring eight points and notched seven boards. Senior Jeremy Allen poured in 11 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the floor, while registering two steals.

The Panthers finished the night shooting 39.6 percent from the floor (21-of-53) and 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from 3-point range. FIU converted 75.0 percent from the charity stripe (18-of-24), while out-rebounding the Trojans, 39-35. Defensively, FIU held Troy to 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the field, which shot a total of 29 3-pointers, making just eight (27.6 percent).  

The Trojans were led by Alan Jones, who had 13 points.  R.J. Scott (12 points) and Justin Wright (10 points) rounded out the top scorers for Troy.

The Panthers held a 28-25 lead heading into halftime, shooting 40.7 percent from the floor (11-of-27). The Trojans converted 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from the field but committed 10 turnovers, resulting in 12 points for the Panthers. Sophomore Dominique Ferguson led FIU in scoring in the first half with eight points. For the Trojans, Tim Owens accounted for a team-high six points.  Troy went on a 9-0 run to start the game as the Panthers missed their first five shots. However, the Panthers battled back to take the lead and hold it for much of the first half. 

The win marked the third-straight victory for the Panthers over the Trojans, and snapped a two-game losing skid for FIU.

FIU travels to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday, Feb. 4. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET.

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 in 17 sports. In 2010 the Panthers won their first bowl game. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.