MIAMI (Nov. 25, 2015) – Donte McGill poured in a career-high 24 points, and
Daviyon Draper had 16 points, as the FIU men's basketball team improved to 4-2 on the year with an 80-72 win over LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday night at Lime Court at FIU Arena.
In addition to Mcgill and Draper's double-digit performances,
Eric Nottage added a career-best 15 points in the win.
The Panthers had a blistering performance in the first half offensively, and just as impressive a showing on the defensive end of the floor. FIU shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from behind the three-point arc, and hit 7-of-9 shots from the free-throw line (77.8 percent)
Defensively, the Panthers created problems for the Blackbirds (3-1) holding them to just 29 percent (9-of-31) from the floor, and without a three-point field goal in nine attempts, in the first 20 minutes of play.
FIU used a pair of 6-0 runs in the first stanza to open the game up and give itself a double-digit cushion. A big part of the first half onslaught was the play of Mcgill who scored 16 of his game-and-career-high points before the break.
The Panthers took a 46-22 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
LIU came out in the second half and chipped away at FIU lead, cutting the Panthers' edge to single-digits when Martin Hermannsson connected on a layup with just over eight minutes left in the game to make the score, 63-55.
The Blackbirds got as close as three points, 70-67, with three minutes left in the game but could not get any closer.
FIU would connect on 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, and a field goal by Mcgill, in the final three minutes to put the game out of reach.
In addition to his 24 points, Mcgill also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the win.
The Panthers will return home to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Monday, Nov. 30, when it faces in-state foe Stetson at 7 p.m.
For men's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUHoops 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 at the FIU Football 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 Florida's 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, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
