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MIAMI (Dec. 21, 2013) - The FIU men's basketball team (8-5) fell to the Louisville Cardinals, 85-56, Saturday night from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Senior Tymell Murphy had a team-high 16 points on a 6-of-8 shooting performance, making it the 16th time this season and the 40th time in his career that he's scored double-digit points. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles recorded 13 points and came one rebound shy of a double-double, while also going a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. It's the 10th time this season the Miami native has scored at least 10 points in a game and the 17th time of his career. Sophomore Jerome Frink added 10 points, going 3-of-7 from the floor and hitting all but one free-throw (3-of-4). 

Buckles scored the first two Panther points of the night against his former team, hitting a jumper in the paint to tie the score at two apiece with 18:41 to play. Frink drained a three-pointer just shy of 15:45 to pull the Panthers within four points, 10-6. Murphy converted a three-point play just over minute later, cutting the deficit to 12-9. The Cardinals pulled ahead by 13 at the halfway point of the first half before junior Marco Porcher Jimenez's make from three-point land, trimming the Cardinals lead to 22-12. Freshman Dominique Williams got the put in with just under six minutes to play in the half. Buckles then drained a trey on the Panthers's next possession, forcing a Louisville timeout, as the Panthers cut the deficit to eight points, 28-20. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin hit a fadeaway trey as the shot clock expired at the four-minute mark, pulling the Panthers within five, 28-23. FIU went into the half trailing, 39-25.

Murphy and Buckles led the Panthers through the first 20 minutes with five points apiece, while Buckles also had four boards. Williams led the Panthers in the first with five rebounds, while he and Murphy were each credited with one steal each. FIU shot 31 percent in the first half (8-of-26), while the team went 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Louisville held a slight edge in rebounds, 21-17, although FIU topped the Cardinals in steals, 2-0.

Frink sank a jumper 17 seconds into the second half, which was followed by a Buckles jumper, to make the score 42-29 with 18:22 to play. The Panthers were held scoreless for 4:49 until Mavin hit his second trey of the night with 13:40 remaining, making the score 48-32. Buckles grabbed an offensive rebound for a layup just under a minute later. Louisville took a 20-point lead at the 10-minute mark, leading 54-34. Frink made his two free-throws with 9:23 left, which was followed by a block from Buckles, his first of the night, to keep the score 61-38 with 8:48 to play. Buckles then got to the line for the first time of the night with 6:13 to play, as he hit both his shots. Murphy scored on back-to-back possessions just before the clock reached four minutes, as he made the score, 74-52, after an “and-one”. Louisville went on to score on its final two possessions.

FIU finished the night shooting 33 percent from the floor (18-of-54) and 5-of-17 from three-point range. The Panthers held a slight edge in free throws, besting the Cardinals, 68 percent to 63 percent, while also topping Louisville in rebounds, 38-to-34. 

The Panthers now turn to Georgetown, as they will face the Hoyas on December 28. Tipoff is slated for noon from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.

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).

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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.