GAME 17: FIU vs. LOUISIANA TECH
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla. | PantherVision
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 8-8, 2-1 C-USA
Last Game: L, 99-81 at Marshall, January 9, 2016
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 138-135/ninth season
Record at FIU: 39-41/third season
 
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS
Record: 13-3, 2-1 C-USA
Last Game: W, 93-90 (ot) vs. Charlotte, January 9, 2016
Head Coach: Eric Konkol
Alma Mater: Wisconsin at Eau Clare, 2000
Career Record: 13-3/first season
Record at school: Same
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: PantherVision
Pete Pelegrin (Play-by-play)
Radio/Audio: FIU Sports Radio Network
Pete Pelegrin (Play-by-play)
Live Stats: FIUSports.com           
Series: LA Tech leads, 5-3
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: Call 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263) Single game tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on game day.
 
QUICK HITS
- FIU returns home to Lime Court at FIU Arena looking to get back into the win column when it faces Louisiana Tech on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. ... The Panthers come into the game against the Bulldogs having won four of their last five.
 
- The Panthers are coming off a tough 99-81 loss at Marshall on Jan. 9 ... Daviyon Draper poured in a career-high 25 points, while Donte McGill and Adrian Diaz added 20 and 16 points, respectively ... FIU's 81 points are the most scored this season, and the most scored in a game since netting 88 on Jan. 2, 2014 against Florida A&M (L, 93-88).
 
- Diaz and McGill continue to lead FIU in scoring, netting 15.8 and 15.7 points-per-game, respectively, while Draper is netting 14.4 points-per-outing ... Diaz also leads in rebounding, grabbing 9.1 per-outing.
 
- McGill continues to be the hottest player on the team, averaging 18.4 points-per-game in his last five outings ... He has also scored 20-plus points in four of his last six games, averaging 19.2 points-per-game during that stretch.
 
- Diaz leads Conference USA, and is No. 1 in NCAA Division I (through games of Jan. 12), in blocked shots-per-game, averaging 3.4 rejections-per-outing ... He is also tops in the nation in total blocked shots (54).
 
UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS
- Following its meeting with Louisiana Tech on Thursday, FIU will return to the court on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. when it faces Southern Miss.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- Louisiana Tech comes into its game with FIU, boasting an impressive 13-3 record and a 2-1 record mark in Conference USA play.
 
- The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games, including a 93-90 overtime win over Charlotte on Jan. 9 in Ruston ... Dayon Griffin and Alex Hamilton led the way with 28 and 27 points, respectively for LA Tech, while Erik McCree added 13 points in the win ... Griffin, McCree and Merrill Holden all grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
 
- Hamilton leads four players averaging double-digits in the scoring column, netting 18.8 points-per-game ... McCree is averaging 16.8 points-per-outing, and Qiydar Davis and Griffin are logging 10.6 and 10.0 points-per-game, respectively on the year ... McCree is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 7.1 rebounds-per-contest.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST LA TECH
- LA Tech comes into its game with FIU holding a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Panthers ... FIU, however, is 2-1 in games played on Lime Court at FIU Arena.
 
- The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings between the two schools, and three of the last four.
 
- FIU and LA Tech met twice a season from the 1998-99 season through the 2000-01 campaign while both schools were members of the Sun Belt Conference ... The series was tied at 3-3 during that stretch.
 
- FIU won the only overtime game played in the series, 73-65, on Feb. 6, 1999 (2ot) in Miami.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU is coming off a tough 99-81 loss at Marshall on Jan. 9, its first setback of the Conference USA schedule ... The loss also snapped the Panthers' four-game winning streak.
 
- Daviyon Draper scored a career-high 25 points, on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, to go along with five rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes of action ... Draper was joined in double-figures by Donte McGill and Adrian Diaz, who scored 20 and 16 points, respectively.
 
- FIU shot 46.5 percent (33-of-71) from the field, and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free-throw line ... The Panthers, however, couldn't counter Marshall's 53.4 percent (31-of-58) shooting from the field - including 13 made three-point shots - and an 80.0 percent (24-of-30) performance from the charity stripe.