Box Score RUSTON, La. (Jan. 11, 2014) – Unable to overcome a 22-0 run in the first half, the FIU men's basketball team (9-8, 1-1 C-USA) fell to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (14-3, 2-0 C-USA), 85-51, on Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La.
Senior
Tymell Murphy led all Panthers with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native converted 5-of-13 shooting from the floor and also notched a team-high three steals. Also scoring in double-figures was redshirt junior
Dennis Mavin, who added 12 points and grabbed three rebounds.
FIU finished the night shooting 35.3 percent from the floor (18-of-51) and converted 13-of-22 attempts from the free-throw line (59.1 percent). The Bulldogs finished the contest shooting 41.8 percent from the floor (28-of-67) and were 22-of-36 from the charity stripe. LA Tech held a 51-34 advantage on the boards, including 20 offensive rebounds, resulting in 20 second-chance points.
FIU entered halftime trailing, 42-24. A 22-0 run by the Bulldogs in the final six minutes of the half put the Panthers in an 18-point deficit. FIU shot 37.0 percent (10-of-27) in the first half and was led by Murphy, who had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Panthers were unable to reduce LA Tech's lead out of the break as the Bulldogs out-scored FIU, 43-27, in the final 20 minutes of play.
In all, 10 Panthers saw action in the contest. The loss dropped FIU to 1-1 in conference play and 3-4 all-time versus the Bulldogs.
The Panthers will host the Old Dominion Monarchs on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tipoff from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Single game tickets can be purchased by calling the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME, or by logging onto www.FIUSports.com
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. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.
