Box Score Final Box (PDF) | Final Box (HTML) | Anthony Evans Postgame Quotes
MIAMI (Jan. 18, 2014) - In its second-ever home game versus a Conference USA opponent, the FIU men's basketball team (10-9, 2-2 C-USA) defeated the East Carolina Pirates (11-7, 0-3 C-USA), 68-64, Saturday night from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Redshirt senior
Rakeem Buckles and senior
Tymell Murphy led the FIU offense, finishing with 18 points apiece. Buckles also notched his eighth double-double of the season, grabbing a team-high 11 boards. Redshirt junior
Dennis Mavin also scored in double-digits, finishing the night with 10 points, going 3-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line. Buckles also added a team-high four steals and one block.
Sophomore
Jerome Frink and redshirt sophomore
Cody Mann hit back-to-back treys to open the scoring for the Panthers, cutting the ECU lead to 10-6 off an FIU timeout at the 17-minute mark. Mavin made it a 1-point Pirate lead before 12 minutes after he completed a 3-point play. Murphy tied the game at 20-all three minutes later after driving coast-to-coast off a steal. After falling behind be seven, Buckles gave FIU its first lead of the night with just over three minutes to play, finishing a layup off an offensive rebound. FIU went into the half trailing, 37-33.
Murphy led the Panthers though 20 minutes with nine points and five boards, with Mavin and Buckles contributing eight and six points, respectively. FIU shot 41 percent (8-of-19) in the first half, knocking down 65 percent (13-of-20) from the line. Both teams were knotted with 15 rebounds and three steals apiece, although FIU held in edge in blocks, 3-0.
Buckles provided his team with a spark after a little give-and-go with freshman
Jason Boswell, finishing with a dunk and following that score with a layup on the ensuing possession. With the back-to-back scores, FIU led 41-40 with 16:37 left in the game. Frink sank a layup off an ECU turnover, forcing the Pirates to call a timeout with 3:36 to play and down, 64-61. FIU would hold on for the four-point victory and the team's first-ever C-USA victory at home.
The Panthers shot 52 percent (24-of-46) from the floor on the night, while holding the Pirates to 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field. FIU conversted 62 percent of its free-throws (16-of-26) and held an edge on points scored off a fast break, 10-8. The Panthers were dominant on the boards, topping ECU, 32-29, and forced 14 turnovers.
The Panthers are off until Jan. 25 when FIU welcomes rival Florida Atlantic to Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. The game will be aired on CSS with a 6 p.m. ET tipoff time.
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/.
