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KENNESAW, Ga. (Nov. 8, 2013) – Despite double-doubles by redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles and senior Tymell Murphy, the FIU men's basketball team (0-1) dropped its season opener to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-0), 83-61, on Friday, Nov. 8, in the first game of the 2013 KSU Men's Basketball Tournament.

Buckles, who posted 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, made his first appearance in an NCAA Division I game since Jan. 16, 2011. Murphy, who tallied a team-high 14 points and grabbed 10 boards, notched his ninth-career double-double. Also scoring in double-figures was redshirt senior Raymond Taylor, who scored 11 points versus EKU.

A 21-point, first-half deficit was too much to overcome. Turnovers proved to be costly as EKU capitalized on 14 FIU turnovers for 25 points. The Panthers also struggled from the free-throw line, converting 17-of-35 attempts (48.6 percent).

In all, FIU shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from 3-point range.  

The Panthers fell behind, 45-24, in the first half, shooting 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-of-13) from the free-throw line. FIU committed 11 turnovers resulting in 20 points for the Colonels in the first 20 minutes of action.

FIU out-rebounded EKU, 45-33, and converted 19 second-chance points to the Colonels' five.

Eastern Kentucky drained nine 3-pointers and shot 49.1 percent from the floor. The Colonels were led by Glenn Cosey, who poured in 17 points and dished out eight assists. Marcus Lewis also added 16 points for EKU.

The Panthers will next take on the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday, Nov. 9. Tipoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET.

Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUMensBBall on Twitter, and “Like” FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUMensBBall) 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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/