MIAMI (Feb. 4, 2015) – Three Panthers scored double-figures on Tuesday night, as the FIU men's basketball team (11-10, 4-4 C-USA) routed the Florida Atlantic Owls, 64-56, from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
Senior
Dennis Mavin led all scorers with 18 points (6-of-11), while tying a career-high for assists with six. Redshirt junior
Adrian Diaz drained 13 points (6-of-10) in the effort, while grabbing a game-high nine boards. Sophomore
Dominique Williams added 12 points (5-of-8) in the effort, with junior
Daviyon Draper contributing nine points and three rebounds.
Mavin gave the Panthers some early separation from the Owls off a turnover forced at half court by Draper. Mavin was fed the ball before converting the dunk to give FIU an 8-2 lead with 16:07 remaining in the half. Draper was able to give FIU its second 10-point lead of the night entering the game's second media timeout, as the Panthers led 15-5 at the 11:44 mark. The Panthers' defense held Florida Atlantic to under 10 points until four second before the 7-minute marker, as the Owls' CJ Turman hit a jumper in the lane, before Diaz drove down court to make 21-11. Williams gave FIU its then-largest lead of the night with 3:18 to play, as a layup gave FIU a 17-point lead, 27-10. The Panthers finished the half shooting 64 percent from the field, in addition to shooting 67 percent from three-point range and led 36-16 after the first half.
FIU's hot shooting continued in the second half as the Panthers opened the final stanza on an 8-2, highlighted by a Diaz tip-in with 17:19 remaining in the game. The Panthers continued to hold a 20-point lead approaching the midway point of the half, before Mavin pushed the Panthers ahead by 23 points off a fast-break takeaway with 8:56 to play. The Owls were able to hold FIU scoreless for a 3:31 minute span, while capitalizing in a 6-0 run, but Williams landed a layup to make it 57-45 with 2:14 to play.
FIU continues its busy work week on Thursday, as the Panthers play host UTSA Roadrunners from Lime Court at FIU Arena. Tip time is slated for 7:30 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).
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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 of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
