Dec. 20, 2014

THE GAME: FIU continues its eight-game road slate with a trip  to Hartford, Conn. to take on the Hartford Hawks on Dec. 21.  This will be the first matchup ever between the Hawks and the Panthers. Tip time is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and fans can watch the game for free by clicking here. 

LAST TIME OUT: FIU fell to LIU Brooklyn by a score of 69-58 on Thursday night at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets. The Panthers trailed by as many as 15 points, but rallied and would take a four-point lead in the second half. LIU Brooklyn finished the game on a 30-15 run though to earn the victory. Senior guard Dennis Mavin led the way for the Panthers, scoring 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Senior Marco Porcher Jimenez tallied 11 points and made three from downtown, while junior Tashawn Desir scored 11 points and was 5-for-7 from the field. Junior Daviyon Draper scored nine points while senior Kris Gulley netted seven. FIU shot 43 percent from the field while allowing the Blackbirds to make 44 percent of their shots, the second most allowed by an FIU team this season (Louisville shot 57 percent on 12/5).

SCOUTING HARTFORD: It has been eight days since the Hawks played a basketball game, as 6-5 Hartford is most recently coming off a 63-61 loss to Rider at home on Dec. 13. The Hawks started the season 5-0 before they lost four of their next five games. As a team, Hartford is averaging 61.1 points-per-game and is shooting .410 from the field as a squad. The Hawks are a solid three-point shooting team as well, as they are shooting at a .350 clip from beyond the arc. Leading the way for Hartford is Mark Nwakamma, who is averaging 12.7 points-per-game to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Yolozo Moore II is the other Hawk who is averaging double figures, as he is netting 10.6 points-per-game. Moore has also grabbed 4.1 rebounds and has dished out 3.0 assists.

vs. THE AMERICA EAST: FIU has played a total of five games versus teams from the America East, posting a 1-4 record against those opponents. FIU's lone win against an America East opponent came against UMBC on Feb. 22, 1988 as the Panthers earned a 93-85 victory in Miami. FIU is 1-2 all-time against UMBC and 0-1 against both Maine and Vermont. The last time FIU played a school from the America East was 2001, when the Panthers fell to Vermont, 69-64, at home.

STRONG DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY FOR FIU: A major point of emphasis in FIU's success this year has been its play on the defensive side to the ball. The Panthers have held their opponents to 60 points or less in five games and over 70 points just twice in losses at Georgia State and Louisville. Through Dec. 19, FIU currently ranks third in Conference USA in scoring defense, allowing 60.3 points-per-game. The Panthers have done an exceptional job at guarding the basket, holding opponents to just 39.4 percent shooting from the field, which ranks second in the conference Teams have found little success shooting from long-distance against FIU, as the Panthers are allowing opponents to shoot 27.5 percent from three-point range, good for second in C-USA and 25th in the country. FIU's 7.8 steals-per-game also currently sits second in the conference.

PANTHERS IN THE FOURTH GAME OF AN EIGHT-GAME ROAD TRIP: FIU began an eight-game road trip at Louisville on Dec. 5, and it will conclude at UAB on Jan. 10. Following the contest with Kennesaw State on Dec. 2, FIU began a stretch of 44 days where it will not play a game from Lime Court at FIU Arena, as the Panthers' next home game is not until Jan. 15 versus Marshall. This is by far the longest stretch away from home in school history for FIU. The previous long was 38 days during the 2009-10 season when the Panthers went from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, 2009 without playing at FIU Arena.

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Hawks, FIU will be off for the Holidays before heading up to Florida A&M on Dec. 29 to close out the non-conference slate. The Panthers are 5-6 all-time against Florida A&M, recently dropping an overtime contest last season by a score of 93-88 up in Tallahassee. Dennis Mavin recorded a then-career-high 24 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor and 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. Rakeem Buckles notched the game's only double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Six players scored in double figures 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 of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.