MIAMI (Dec. 4, 2015) – Donte Mcgill scored a career-high 25 points and
Adrian Diaz added 15 points, but that wasn't enough as Elon University handed FIU its second-straight loss, 77-71, at Lime Court at FIU Arena on Friday night.
Mcgill was 10-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line, to go along with his game-high tying eight rebounds and two steals. It was Mcgill's second 20-point effort in his last three games.
On the night, the Panthers (4-4) shot an impressive 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the floor and outrebounded the Phoenix (5-3) in the loss.
FIU led by as many as five points in the first half, 17-12, when Mcgill hit a jumper with 11 minutes left in the first stanza, but could not manage to extend its lead. Elon would close the half on a 14-2 run to take a 36-31 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Phoenix came out in the second half and led for almost 12 minutes. Elon took its biggest lead of the game, to that point, on a Dainan Swoope three-point shot with 11:35 left in the game to make the score 55-47. The Panthers, however, would not let up using a 10-0 run capped by a Mcgill trey with 8:22 left to put FIU up two points, 57-55.
The Panthers then extended its lead to a game-high six points, 65-59, on a Diaz dunk off a nice assist from
Ray Rodriguez with just over four minutes remaining.
The Phoenix, however, would score 18 of the last 24 points of the game, to extend the lead and pull away for the win.
In addition to Mcgill and Diaz,
Kimar Williams and
Daviyon Draper added eight points apiece in the loss.
The Panthers close out their four-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3:30 p.m. when they face cross-state rival Florida Gulf Coast University on Lime Court at FIU Arena.
For men's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
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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/.
