MIAMI (Nov. 20, 2014) - FIU men's basketball (2-0) returns to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Friday and will host the Forida Memorial Lions at 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME: The Panthers return to Lime Court at FIU Arena, on Friday, Nov. 21 to take on the Florida Memorial Lions. This will be the first matchup between the two crosstown schools since the 2010 season. In the last matchup on Nov. 12, 2010, the Panthers earned an 89-73 victory over Florida Memorial at FIU Arena. FIU holds a 12-5 all-time advantage over the Lions, which includes a five-game winning streak for the Panthers, dating back to the 1988 season. FIU is 8-3 all-time in Miami vs. Florida Memorial.
 

FIU OFF TO FIRST 2-0 START SINCE 2010: With a victory over Stetson, FIU earned its first 2-0 start since the 2010-11 season, when the Isiah Thomas coached Panthers opened the season with victories over Florida Memorial and Barry. This is the eighth different occasion where an FIU team started the season with two victories. Those squads include 2008-09, 2002-03, 1998-99, 1988-89, 1986-87, 1984-85, 1983-84. 

vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 53-52 victory over Stetson, the Panthers enter Friday's contest with a 2-0 record in non-conference action. FIU went 8-7 in non-conference games last year, including a home-court win against Florida Gulf Coast (72-61 on December 7, 2013) and a home-court loss to No. 6/4 Louisville (85-56 on December 21, 2013). Of the seven losses, two resulted in five points or less and five came away from the friendly confines of Lime Court at FIU Arena. FIU picked up wins away from home at Kennesaw State, vs. Warren Wilson and at Bethune-Cookman. Three of FIU's non-conference losses came at South Carolina, vs. Louisville and at Georgetown. 
 

vs. THE NAIA: FIU holds an all-time record of 31-11 versus NAIA schools. Florida Memorial is a member of the Sun Conference, which the Panthers boast a record of 23-8 against those schools. Of the 23 wins against the teams in that conference, 12 have come against Florida Memorial, nine against St. Thomas, and two against Webber International. 

MAVIN'S LAYUP WITH 5.6 SECONDS REMAINING SINKS STETSON: With 5.6 seconds remaining and FIU trailing by one, senior guard Dennis Mavin hit a clutch layup to give the Panthers a 53-52 victory over Stetson on Tuesday night. 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. The Panthers trailed for the majority of the game leading for just 33 seconds, including the final five seconds.

DIAZ POSTS CAREER-HIGH BLOCKS IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES TO OPEN SEASON: After losing Rakeem Buckles to graduation last year, FIU was in need of some strong play in the post, offensively and defensively. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz is averaging 10 points and six rebounds in his first two games, but the number that really stands out is his 10 blocks. Having recorded five blocks in each of his first two games, Diaz is the first FIU player since David Gregg to record at least 10 blocks in a  two-game span. Gregg accomplished the feat on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 of the 1989 season. Last year, just one time an FIU player had at least five blocks in one game, when Buckles had eight blocks versus Stetson (11/18/13).
 

PANTHERS TALLY 21 ASSISTS AGAINST FLORIDA COLLEGE: As a team, FIU posted 21 assists in Friday's 64-42 victory over Florida College, marking the most for the Panthers since getting 22 dimes vs. Florida College last season on Nov. 14, 2013. Junior Tashawn Desir led the way with seven assists in his first career game in an FIU uniform.  Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriuez (4) and sophomore Dominique Williams (3) each set career-highs for assists. Five of FIU's 10 players in the contest had at least three assists.  
 

MAVIN POSTS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE vs. FALCONS: Senior guard Dennis Mavin scored 17 points and posted a career-high 10 rebounds as the Gainesville native tallied his first career double-double. Mavin is the first FIU guard to get a double-double since DeJuan Wright had seven during the 2011-12 season for the Panthers. 

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 ofConference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.