Box Score Final Stats (HTML) I Final Stats (PDF)
HOUSTON, Texas (Jan. 9, 2014) – Senior
Tymell Murphy scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the FIU men's basketball team (9-7, 1-0 C-USA) to victory over the Rice Owls (5-9, 0-1 C-USA), 71-60, on Thursday night at the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.
The win marked the first conference victory for the Panthers as members of Conference USA.
Murphy led all players with 22 points and 15 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Murphy also added three assists and two blocks in 34 minutes of action. Also scoring in double-figures was redshirt junior
Dennis Mavin, who finished the night with 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds. The native of Gainesville, Fla., shot 6-of-12 from the floor and tied a career-high in assists (4).
The Panthers finished the night shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (26-of-52) and were 13-of-19 from the free-throw line. FIU out-rebounded the Owls, 37-34, as they out-scored Rice in the paint, 30-26. Defensively, the Panthers held Rice to 22-of-57 from the floor (38.6 percent) and 7-of-24 from beyond the arc (29.2 percent).
FIU entered halftime with a 33-32 lead. The Panthers shot 50.0 percent from the floor (13-of-26) and were led by Mavin, who had a game-high 11 points for the first half. Murphy grabbed a game-high six boards in the first 20 minutes, while adding a blocked shot. Â During the first 20 minutes, freshman
Jason Boswell set the school record for consecutive free-throws made, converting his 25th-straight from the charity stripe with 9:52 left in the first half. The made free throw was his third of the half. Â Boswell finished the night a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
The Panthers will travel to Ruston, La., to take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 11. Tipoff is slated 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).
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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/.
