Final Stats (HTML) I Final Stats (PDF)

MIAMI (March 2, 2014) — Led by seniors Rakeem Buckles and Tymell Murphy, the FIU men's basketball team (14-16, 6-9 C-USA) defeated the Tulane Green Wave (16-14, 8-7 C-USA) on Senior Day at the FIU Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Buckles scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed a contest-best 11 rebounds for his conference-best 13th double-double of the season. The Miami native also tallied three assists and one blocked shot. Murphy contributed 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to move into seventh place all-time on the FIU career scoring list (971 points). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also recorded six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Sophomore Jerome Frink added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while grabbing seven boards.

For the game, FIU shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from beyond the arc. The Panthers notched 16 assists and were led by redshirt junior Dennis Mavin, who posted four. Defensively, FIU held Tulane to 36.2 percent from the floor (17-of-47), including a second half where the Green Wave converted just 6-of-29 from the field (20.7 percent).

A 10-0 run by FIU to start the game, gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. The Green Wave cut the FIU lead to six points mid-way through the first half. But, that would be as close as Tulane would get as the Panthers extended their lead to 10 at the break.

The Panthers entered halftime with a 38-28 lead. Shooting 57.7 percent from the floor, FIU was led by Buckles, who poured in 10 points in the first 20 minutes of action. Mavin added nine points, while Frink recorded eight points.

Tulane came out in the second half and cut FIU's lead to five, 42-37, following a 3-pointer by Jay Hook. However, a 10-2 run by the Panthers extended the lead to 13, 52-39, capped off by a layup by redshirt sophomore Cody Mann with 12:30 left to play. FIU would go on to extend its lead to 20 and ultimately 26, holding the Green Wave to 19 points in the second half as the Panthers closed out the 2013-2014 season at FIU Arena, 73-47.

The 26-point victory was the most-decisive win for the Panthers this season as FIU finished the year with a 9-6 record at home.

FIU will close out the 2013-2014 season at Florida Atlantic on Thursday, March 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 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).
 
###
 
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/.