Box Score MONROE, La. (Feb. 28, 2013) – A 17-0 run in the final 5:33 lifted the FIU men's basketball team (16-12, 11-8 SBC) to a 67-58 win over the ULM Warhawks (4-21, 3-16 SBC) on Thursday evening at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.
 
Trailing 53-50 with 5:33 left in the game, the Panthers scored 17-straight points to take a 14-point lead. A pair of buckets by ULM's Trent Mackey in the final 10 seconds put the final score at 67-58.
 
Junior Malik Smith led all Panthers with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Junior Tymell Murphy finished the night with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while freshman Jerome Frink posted 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor
 
Senior Cameron Bell led FIU on the boards, registering eight rebounds. Sophomore Deric Hill sparked a defense that registered 11 steals, notching a team-high four swipes versus the Warhawks
 
FIU finished the contest shooting 49.0 percent from the floor (24-of-49) and 23.8 percent from 3-point range (5-of-21). The Panthers converted 14-of-21 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).
 
The Panthers trailed by seven, 30-23, heading into halftime after a poor shooting performance in the first half, as FIU converted 39.1 percent of its shots (9-of-23) from the floor. The Panthers also committed 10 turnovers in the opening half.
 
A 14-2 run to start the second half gave FIU its first lead since the 16:05 mark in the first half as the Panthers went up by five with15:56 left in the game. A layup by Murphy gave the Panthers a 37-32 advantage, and FIU extended its lead to 11 with 12:25 on the clock as a jumper by Murphy gave the Panthers a 45-34 lead.
 
ULM chipped away at FIU's lead, taking a 53-50 advantage following a jumper by R.J. McCray with 5:33 left in the game. However, the Panthers' 17-0 run put the game away and gave FIU its 16th win of the season.
 
The Panthers forced 21 turnovers, resulting in 31 points for FIU.
 
The win marked the team's 11th conference victory of the year while giving FIU the program's most victories since the 1999-2000 season.     
 
FIU will close out the 2012-2013 regular season on Saturday, March 2, with a trip to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls. Game time is set for 7:00 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