THE GAME: FIU returns 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.
LAST TIME OUT: FIU fell to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center by a score of 75-42. With the loss, FIU falls to 3-5 all-time against the LA Tech. FIU turned the ball over 27 times against a very aggressive Bulldog defense. Redshirt junior
Adrian Diaz posted his fifth career double-double, tallying 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while blocking three shots in the loss. Senior
Dennis Mavin tied for the team lead in scoring, as he chipped in 11 points, while junior
Tashawn Desir added six points. Senior
Kris Gulley grabbed nine rebounds in the first half. FIU's defense held strong in the early stages, as the Panthers led 4-2 at the 15:43 mark and also had an 11-10 lead with 9:08 to go. FIU trailed 51-34 with 8:34 to go. The Bulldogs strung together a 24-8 run to close the game, resulting in a 75-42 final score.
Â
DIAZ "THE HIALEAH HAMMER" LEADING THE SWAT TEAM: In the Feb. 7 loss to UTEP, redshirt junior
Adrian Diaz blocked four shots, passing Jabahri Brown (1999-00 season) to break FIU's single-season blocks record, as he now has 69 blocks on the season. This came after the Feb. 5 contest against UTSA, where in addition to his fourth career double-double, Diaz played a big part in helping the Panthers block a season-high 10 shots. In addition to registering a career-high eight blocks, Diaz tied the FIU school record for blocked shots with
Rakeem Buckles, who had eight swats vs. Stetson (11/18/13) and David Gregg who did the same vs. UMES (1/3/89). Diaz has 41 blocks over the last 10 games, an average of 4.1 blocks-per-contest. With his three blocks against Louisiana Tech, Diaz not only holds the school's single season record, but he also ranks ninth all-time in blocks at FIU and is just four away from cracking the top five.Â
SCOUTING RICE: The Owls enter Thursday's contest with a 9-15 overall record and a 6-6 mark in Conference USA action. Rice has played well as of late, winning its last three games over Western Kenutcky, Middle Tennessee and UAB. Leading the way for the Owls is Seth Gerhart, who is averaging a team best 15.3 points-per-game this season to go along with 5.3 rebounds-per-game. Max Guercy leads Rice with 94 assists this season as well. Rice won a second-straight overtime game when it topped UAB, 82-73, on Saturday night at Tudor Fieldhouse in the Owls' second 2OT game of the week. Gearhart put the squad on his back as he poured in a career-high 32 points to accompany 10 rebounds in the win. Guercy also notched a double-double as he matched a career high with 21 points and set a new high of 10 assists. Gearhart is the only C-USA player to record two 30-point games against league opponents, with 31 at WKU and 32 against UAB. In those games, Gearhart scored 63 points on 24 shots. He was named the league's co-Player of the Week.Â
Â
NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Owls, FIU will return to action on Feb. 21 for a 6:30 p.m. ET matchup with the North Texas Mean Green. The matchup between FIU and North Texas will mark the 18th all-time meeting between the two teams as the Mean Green leads the all-time series, 13-4. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 20, 2014, as FIU fell on a last second buzzer-beater, 65-63, despite coming back from a 10-plus point deficit with under two minutes to play in the game at FIU Arena.
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).
##### Â
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 of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
Â
