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HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Feb. 27, 2014) –  A 12-point, halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the FIU men's basketball team (13-16, 5-9 C-USA) fell to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (24-5, 11-3 C-USA), 78-66, on Thursday night from the Reed Green Coliseum.

The Panthers, which scored 43 points in the second half, were led by junior Marco Porcher Jimenez, who posted a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Porcher Jimenez also grabbed a career-best six rebounds. Senior Tymell Murphy notched the game's only double-double, scoring 13 points and registering 11 rebounds. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also tallied four steals, three blocked shots and a season-high seven assists. Also scoring in double-figures for FIU was redshirt sophomore Cody Mann, who added 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field.

Shooting 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the floor in the second half, FIU was able to even the point total of Southern Miss as both squads put up 43 points in the final 20 minutes of action. The Panthers drained seven of their nine treys in the second half and converted 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final stanza. However, a slow start to the game put FIU in an early hole as the Panthers came into the second half down by 12.

FIU entered halftime down 35-23. Led by Murphy' six points and eight rebounds, the Panthers shot 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from the floor and 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of action.

For the game, FIU converted 49.0 percent from the floor (24-of-49) and 40.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-22). Southern Miss finished the game shooting 45.8 percent from the floor (27-of-59), including 4-of-14 from downtown (28.6 percent). The Golden Eagles held a 36-29 advantage on the boards and out-scored the Panthers in the paint, 46-26.
 
The Panthers will return home to host the Tulane Green Wave on Sunday, March 2. Tipoff from Lime Court at FIU Arena is set for 2:00 p.m.
 
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 U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU,visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.