MIAMI (March 7, 2015) – Behind a record performance by redshirt junior
Adrian Diaz, the FIU men's basketball team knocked off the UAB Blazers on Saturday night by a score of 70-66 to close out the 2014-15 regular season. With the win, FIU is the No. 10 seed in the Conference USA Tournament and will face UTSA on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Diaz posted what is believed to be the program's first ever triple-double, scoring 14 points, grabbing 12 rebounds while blocking an FIU record 13 shots. The 13-block performance by Diaz matches a Conference USA single game record, which was initially set by Marshall's Hassan Whiteside back in 2010. Additionally, the 13 swats for the Miami native is an NCAA season-high for a single game this season, besting the previous mark of 11.
In addition to the stellar performance by Diaz, three more Panthers scored in double-figures on senior night. Redshirt junior
Daviyon Draper led FIU in scoring, netting 20 points while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists and recording two steals. Senior
Dennis Mavin closed out his final home game with a strong 32 minutes, tallying 19 points, grabbing six rebounds and matching his career-high in assists with six. Also scoring in double figures was senior
Kris Gulley, who had 14 points and three from long distance.
The Panthers jumped out to an 18-10 lead in the early stages, in large part to Gulley's hot three-point shooting as he knocked down two threes, and three field goals each from Diaz and Draper. Diaz was strong for the Panthers, especially through the first 12 minutes when he tallied four blocks. Mavin would extend the lead to nine points with 6:21 to go on a fastbreak layup to make it 24-15. The Gainesville native kept it at nine with another take to make it 26-17 before the Blazers scored the next five points to cut it to four. Mavin hit a key three to increase the lead back to seven at the 1:54 mark, but UAB answered with a layup on the other end to make it 31-26 in favor of the Panthers at halftime.
UAB jumped out to a quick 5-0 run to open the second half, tying the game up at 31. Following a Mavin free throw, the Blazers went back up on top with a three to make it a 34-32 game. The game would go back-and-forth up to the 14:04 mark when FIU scored nine-straight points, capped off by a jumper from Mavin to make it 50-42 with 11:45 to go. The Blazers would not give in though, scoring eight of the next 10 to make it just a two-point game.
A jumper by Draper at the 8:51 mark put the FIU lead back up to four, but the Blazers answered on the other end with a three. UAB got the lead back with 6:43 to go and led by as many as two up to the 2:56 mark. Mavin came up with a big three-point play down in stretch that would put the Panthers in front by one. But two free throws from UAB allowed the Blazers to regain the lead, 66-65 with 57 seconds to go. The deciding play came from the senior Gulley, who scored on a putback and was fouled, successfully converting the three-point play to put FIU in front by two. Mavin made two more from the charity stripe, resulting in a 70-66 outcome.
FIU's tournament opener against UTSA will be at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Birmingham. With a win, the Panthers would face UTEP in the second round on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
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/.
