Box Score MIAMI (Feb. 21, 2013) – Senior Cameron Bell scored a career-high 17 points as the FIU men's basketball team (15-12, 10-8 SBC) defeated the UALR Trojans (15-13, 9-8 SBC), 65-52, on Thursday evening at U.S. Century Bank Arena. Prior to the start of the game, FIU honored its four seniors (Bell, Tola Akomolafe, Gaby Belardo and Manny Nunez), who each played their final regular season home game).
 
Four Panthers scored in double-figures, including Bell. The West Bloomfield, Mich., native shot 5-of-8 from the floor and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, while grabbing a game- and season-high eight rebounds. Freshman Jerome Frink posted 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, registering three steals and two blocked shots. Sophomore Deric Hill added 12 points, shooting 3-of-6 from the floor, and notched three assists, one block and two steals versus the Trojans. Junior Tymell Murphy rounded out the double-digit scorers, pouring in 11 points and grabbing five rebounds.
 
FIU shot 46.8 percent from the floor (22-of-47) and 29.4 percent from 3-point range (5-of-17), while holding UALR to 39.3 percent shooting from the field (22-of-56) and a staggering 9.1 percent (2-of-22) from beyond the arc.
 
The Panthers converted a season-best 88.9 percent from the free-throw line (16-of-18), hitting 15-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half. UALR struggled from the line, converting 6-of-15 (40.0 percent).
 
The game began with UALR taking an early lead through the first six minutes. A dunk by Bell with 13:57 left in the first half gave the Panthers their first lead of the game, 8-7. It would be a lead FIU would hold onto until a jumper by James White with 1:53 remaining in the first half gave the Trojans a 25-24 lead. A trey by Hill with 1:24 on the clock gave FIU a 27-25 edge. Akomolafe added a dunk with 40 seconds left in the half as the Panthers entered halftime with a 29-25 advantage.
 
The second half was all FIU as the Panthers maintained their lead for the final 20 minutes to snap a three-game losing skid to the Trojans.
 
The win marked the team's 10th home victory of the season and improved the Panthers' season win total to 15. The 15 wins are the most by a Panther team since the 1999-2000 season, while the 10 conference victories are the most for FIU since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1998-1999. The 15 victories also ensure a record of .500 or better for the Panthers for the first time in 13 years.  
 
FIU will next travel to Monroe, La., to take on the ULM Warhawks on Thursday, Feb. 28. Game time is set for 8:30 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).
 
 
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