DENTON, Texas (Nov. 22, 2014) – A pair of returns of 70+ plus yards for touchdowns by redshirt junior Richard Leonard (74 yards punt return) and junior Jeremiah McKinnon (71-yard interception return) were not enough as the FIU football team fell to North Texas, 17-14, on Saturday afternoon at Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas.
 
Both teams accounted for 28 points in the first 30 minutes of action with just three point (a North Texas field goal in the third) scored after halftime.
 
Redshirt junior Anthon Samuel led the FIU rushing game with 89 yards on 14 carries. Freshman Napoleon Maxwell also added 43 yards on nine carries. Freshman Alex McGough threw for 56 yards on 11-of-25 passing and three interceptions. Sophomore Jonnu Smith led the Panthers with four catches (15 yards), while junior T.J. Lowder had a team-high 19 yards receiving (three catches).
 
Defensively, the Panthers were led by sophomore Jordan Davis, who had a season-high 12 tackles to go along with his first-career interception.
 
North Texas took a 7-0 lead following 54-yard touchdown run by Reggie Pegram with 14:20 left in the first quarter. The score capped off a two-play, 79-yard drive that lasted 40 seconds.  The Mean Green extended their lead at the 5:21 mark in the first to 14-0 following a four-yard touchdown pass from Andrew McNulty to Marcus Smith.
 
FIU got on the board when Leonard returned a punt 74-yards for a touchdown with 1:22 left in the first quarter. The punt return was the fifth longest in FIU history and the third longest for a score. The punt return for a touchdown was the first for Leonard and the Panthers this season and second of his career and marked the fourth touchdown of the season for the Miami native (two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one punt return). 
 
FIU tied the game with a McKinnon 71-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:09 left in the half. The pick was the second of the season for McKinnon and the first of his career for a touchdown. It also marked the second-straight week in which an FIU defender has returned an interception for 70-yards or more for a touchdown. 
 
North Texas regained the lead with a 36-yard field goal by Trevor Moore with 0:04 left in the third quarter. The Mean Green drove 24 yards on seven plays in 2:14.
 
With the loss FIU finished the 2014 season with a 4-8 record, 3-5 in Conference USA action.
   
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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 offer 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/.