Box Score Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)
Head Coach Anthony Evans Quotes (PDF)
MIAMI (Feb. 8, 2014) — Four Panthers scored in double-figures, led by sophomore Jerome Frink's 18 points, as the FIU men's basketball team (12-12, 4-5 C-USA) fell to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (17-7, 7-2 C-USA), 70-68, on Saturday afternoon from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
With the score tied at 68-all, a layup by MT's Jaqawn Raymond with 24.6 seconds gave the Blue Raiders a 70-68 lead. A 3-point attempt by redshirt sophomore Cody Mann rimmed out with 4.4 seconds on the clock to snap the Panthers' three-game home winning streak and dropped FIU to 4-5 in conference play.
Frink scored a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. The Jersey City, N.J., native also collected five boards and registered two blocked shots. Redshirt Dennis Mavin poured in 15 points 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles added 12 points and six boards, while senior Tymell Murphy scored 11 points and recorded five rebounds.
The first half saw six lead changes with the score tied four times. A 10-0 run midway through the first half gave the Blue Raiders a 24-16 lead with 8:20 left in the first half. It would be a lead that Middle Tennessee would hold onto after 20 minute of action.
FIU entered halftime trailing Middle Tennessee, 39-30. Frink led all Panthers with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor, while recording two blocked shots. Murphy and Mavin scored seven points apiece while redshirt junior Marco Porcher Jimenez drained a pair of treys for six points. FIU shot 50.0 percent from the floor (12-of-24) and 3-of-8 from 3-point range (37.5 percent) in the first half. However, nine FIU turnovers resulted in 13 points for the Blue Raiders and a nine-point deficit for the Panthers after 20 minutes of action.
The Panthers chipped away at the MT lead, tying the contest at 51-51 following a trey by Buckles with just over 10 minutes to play. The Blue Raiders regained the lead for much of the final 10 minutes of action before a 6-0 run by FIU, capped off by a pair of made free throws by Frink, tied the game at 68-all with 1:31 left.
The Panthers finished the afternoon shooting 51.0 percent from the floor (26-of-51) and converted 5-of-12 from beyond the arc (41.7 percent). The Blue Raiders out-rebounded the Panthers, 34-25, and held a 42-34 edge in points in the paint.
FIU will travel to San Antonio, Texas to face the UTSA Roadrunners on Thursday, Feb. 13. Tip off is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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).
###
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/.
