THE GAME: FIU will return to action on Feb. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. ET matchup at Louisiana Tech. The matchup between FIU and the LA Tech will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams as the Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 4-3. The last time these two teams met was Jan. 11, 2014, as FIU fell to the Bulldogs, 85-51.
Tymell Murphy led all Panthers with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Dennis Mavin added 12 points and grabbed three rebounds in the loss.
LAST TIME OUT: FIU squeaked out a 73-71 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum. The Panthers trailed by as many as 13 in the game but rallied to force overtime, outscoring the Golden Eagles 9-7 in the extra frame. The Panthers had three players score in double-figures, led by senior guard
Dennis Mavin, who netted all 16 of his points in the second half. To go along with his 16 tallies, Mavin added eight rebounds, two assists and three steals as he played all 45 minutes. Also playing the full 45 was junior
Daviyon Draper, who matched a team-high 16 points along with four assists, one block and one steal. Junior
Ray Rodriguez posted a personal-high 14 points in an FIU uniform. Senior
Kris Gulley and sophomore
Dominique Williams chipped in eight points in the win.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH: Louisiana Tech enters Saturday's contest with a 19-6 overall record and a 10-2 mark in Conference USA action. The Bulldogs have been a very difficult team to play against at home, having posted a 12-0 record in home games this season with five of those victories coming in league games. Winners of its last two games, Louisiana Tech is coming off a 65-54 victory over Florida Atlantic on Thursday. The Bulldogs enter the game with two players that are averaging 15 points-per-game, led by Raheem Appleby, who is averaging 15.9 tallies while Alex Hamilton is right behind him, averaging 15.8 points through 25 games of action. One of the more impressive features of Louisiana Tech's squad is its point guard play from Kenneth "Speedy" Smith. The senior is running away with the C-USA lead in assists, as he is averaging a rare 7.8 helpers-per-game, which is contributing to the Bulldogs' league-high 14.4 assists-per-game average. Michale Kyser is the leading rebounder for Tech, as he is grabbing an average of 6.3 boards-per-contest.
NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Bulldogs, FIU will return to action on Feb. 19 for an 8:00 p.m. ET matchup with Rice on the American Sports Network. The matchup between FIU and Rice will mark the second all-time meeting between the two teams as the Panthers lead the all-time series, 1-0. The last time these two teams met was Jan. 9, 2014, as FIU earned a 71-60 victory.
Tymell Murphy scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead FIU. Also scoring in double-figures was
Dennis Mavin, who finished the night with 16 points and nine rebounds.
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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member ofConference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
