DeLAND, Fla. (Nov. 18, 2014) – With 5.6 seconds remaining and FIU (2-0) trailing by one, senior guard Dennis Mavin hit a clutch layup to give the Panthers a 53-52 victory over Stetson on Tuesday night. FIU starts the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

The Panthers trailed for the majority of the game leading for just 33 seconds, including the final five seconds. Stetson shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but the FIU defense came out strong in the second half, holding the Hatters to just 31.8 percent shooting from the field. The Panthers strong defensive presence in the second half led to eight points off turnovers.

Mavin led the way for FIU on the scoring end, netting 15 points, nine of which came from the free throw line, in 40 minutes of action. Junior center Adrian Diaz brought a strong presence inside for the Panthers, especially in the second half, as he netted all nine of his points in the second stanza. Diaz also matched his career-high in blocks that he set last week against Florida College with five.  

Stetson jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led by as many as 12-3 and 15-6 in the early stages of the contest. Sophomore Dominique Williams was strong off the bench, as he scored five-straight FIU points on a three and a lay-in to cut the Hatter lead to 16-8 with 10:48 to go in the first half. The Panthers then strung together a 9-0 run, with four of the points coming from Williams and a three coming from redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriguez. FIU had its first lead of 17-16 with 6:58 to go in the first half.

Stetson returned the favor with an 10-0 run of its own to up the lead back to 26-17 with 4:12 to go in the first half. Junior point guard Tashawn Desir hit the first of his two three-pointers for the game at the 3:48 mark to trim the Hatter lead to 26-20. Mavin followed by sinking both free throws to make it a four-point Stetson lead. The Hatters scored six of the final nine points of the half as FIU entered the locker room trailing 32-25.

Senior Kris Gulley came out of halftime hitting a jumper to trim the Stetson lead to five and Diaz followed with a shot in the paint to make it a three-point game. The Hatters maintained an advantage of four points down to the 14:33 mark, when Diaz connected on a layup and junior Daviyon Draper hit one of two free throws to make the Panther deficit just one point.

From that point on, FIU kept it close, but Stetson would lead by seven twice, which included a lead of that amount with just 3:10 to go in the game. Trailing 52-45, FIU would begin its 8-0 run to close the game on one of two free throw shots by Mavin. Senior Marco Porcher Jimenez hit a big three with 2:09 to go to make it 52-49 in favor of Stetson. Mavin then connected on two foul shots with 56 seconds remaining to trim the lead to one.

On the other end, Stetson held the ball and the Panthers eventually forced a turnover, where Diaz was credited with the steal. Mavin took over from there, penetrated and converted the tough layup with five seconds to go. Stetson had one last chance with 1.6 seconds to go on a half court inbounds play, but Diaz stuffed B.J. Glasford's layup attempt as time expired.

GAME NOTES: FIU is 2-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when the Isiah Thomas coached Panthers opened the season with victories over Florida  Memorial and Barry…FIU has won its last four games dating back to last season…With the road win, this marks the first time in program history that FIU has won its road opener in back-to-back seasons…FIU improves to 23-9 all-time versus teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference….The Panthers improve to 14-6 all-time against Stetson, including winning the last seven matchups between the two schools…Adrian Diaz matched his career-high in blocks with five

FIU is back in action this Friday at 7:30 p.m. as it takes on the Florida Memorial Lions on Lime Court at FIU Arena.   

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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.