SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov. 28, 2014) - The FIU basketball team (4-3) dropped its final game of the Spartanburg Marriott Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a 64-61 loss to the Cal State Fullerton Titans.

Senior guard Dennis Mavin posted his second-straight 20-point game in the loss, putting up 20 tallies to go along with three assists and two steals. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds while blocking two shots. Sophomore Dominique Williams tallied 11 points and pulled in seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Freshman Larry Dennis put the Panthers ahead 2-0 on a layup at the 19:25 mark to start the game. Following a Titan basket, Williams knocked down a pair of shots, including one three, which would eventually make it a 7-5 Panther lead. The Titans went on to score five of the next seven points to take a 10-7 lead into the first media timeout. Mavin and junior Daviyon Draper combined for the next five points, but Cal State Fullerton extended it to 18-12 with 11:45 to go in the first half.

Mavin cut the Titan lead to four, but Cal State Fullerton strung together a 7-0 run to make it 25-14 with 8:11 to go in the first stanza. Diaz ended the run by connecting on his first field goal of the game to shrink the Titan lead to nine. Following a three-point play for CSU, redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriguez connected on a two and Williams scored to make it a 28-20 game. The Titans put together a 4-0 run of their own to up the lead to 12. FIU closed the half scoring seven of the final 11 points to be trailing by nine going into the locker room.

FIU kept the pace with CSU early in the second half, as Mavin and Diaz went a combined four-of-four from the free throw line resulting in a 40-31 Tian lead with 15:59 remaining in regulation. Then with Fullerton leading 44-34, FIU strung together a run that would shrink the lead to just two. Mavin started things off with a three followed by a Diaz field goal. Draper then converted a three-point play and Mavin made one free throw to cap off an 8-0 run, as the Panthers trailed 44-42 with 6:59 to go.

After the Titans posted a 6-0 run, Mavin and Williams each sank two free throws to eventually get the game within six. After the Titans made two free throws on the ensuing possession, Diaz came back with a jump shot and Mavin made one from the charity stripe to make it 56-51 with 1:21 to go. CSF would however up the lead back to eight and the Panthers would try to play catchup from there. Mavin had a layup to make it 64-61 with three seconds left, but FIU was unable to steal the inbounds pass for a last second attempt to tie the game.

The Panthers are back in action this Tuesday as they host Kennesaw State at 7:30 p.m. from 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/.