Box Score Final Stats (HTML) I Final Stats (PDF)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan. 2, 2014) – Struggles from the free-throw line resulted in a 93-88 overtime loss for the FIU men's basketball team (8-7) to the Florida A&M Rattlers (4-10) on Thursday evening at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
Redshirt junior
Dennis Mavin recorded a career-high 24 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor and 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. Redshirt senior
Rakeem Buckles notched the game's only double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Also scoring in double-figures for the Panthers were sophomore
Jerome Frink (12), senior
Tymell Murphy (15), redshirt sophomore
Cody Mann (16) and freshman
Jason Boswell (10).
FIU converted 33-of-51 attempts from the line (64.7 percent), including a 16-of-30 second half in which the Rattlers out-scored the Panthers, 48-42. Despite falling behind 2-0 to start the game, FIU held the lead for the remainder of regulation. FIU shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) in the first 20 minutes to take a 39-33 lead heading into halftime.
FIU held the lead for nearly the entire second half. However, poor free-throw shooting got the Rattlers back in the game. With time winding down, FAMU's Jomari Bradshaw hit the game-tying 3-pointer to send the contest to overtime.
The Rattlers out-scored the Panthers 12-7 in overtime to hand FIU its third-straight loss.
FIU finished the night shooting 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor and was 33-of-51 from the charity stripe (64.7 percent). The Rattlers out-rebounded the Panthers, 43-40, and held a 44-38 edge in point in the paint.
FIU will next travel to Houston, Texas, to take on the Rice Owls in the Panthers first-ever Conference USA contest on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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).
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, visit http://www.fiu.edu/
