GAME 18: FIU vs. SOUTHERN MISS
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 9-8, 3-1 C-USA
Last Game: W, 88-74 vs. Louisiana Tech, January 14, 2016
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 139-135/ninth season
Record at FIU: 40-41/third season
 
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
Record: 4-11, 1-3 C-USA
Last Game: L, 58-51 at Florida Atlantic, January 14, 2016
Head Coach: Doc Sadler
Alma Mater: Arkansas, 1982
Career Record: 162-138/10th season
Record at school: 13-31/second season
 
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: Series ties, 1-1
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: Call 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263) Single game tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on game day.
 
QUICK HITS
- FIU closes out its two-game home stretch on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. when the Panthers host Southern Miss on Lime Court at FIU Arena ... FIU looks to get its second-straight win and its sixth win in its last seven games.
 
- The Panthers are coming off an impressive 88-74 wire-to-wire win, on Thursday at home, against Louisiana Tech ... Donte McGill poured in a career-high 29 points - 23 coming in the first half - on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw  line ... Daviyon Draper chipped in 18 points, and Jason Boswell and Adrian Diaz added 11 points apiece.
 
- McGill has taken over the team lead in scoring, averaging 16.5 points-per-game, while Adrian Diaz is netting 15.5 points-per-outing ... Draper rounds out the Panthers' double-digit scorers, averaging 14.6 points-per-contest.
 
- McGill continues to be the hottest player on the team, averaging 19.0 points-per-game in his last five outings ... He has also scored 20-plus points in five of his last seven games, averaging 20.6 points-per-game during that stretch.
 
- Diaz leads Conference USA, and is No. 2 in NCAA Division I (through games of Jan. 14), in blocked shots-per-game, averaging 3.4 rejections-per-outing ... He is also second in the nation in total blocked shots (58).
 
UP NEXT FOR FIU
- Following Southern Miss the Panthers will head to the Lone Star state, for the first of two trips to Texas, when it butts heads with UTSA on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. (ET) ... Following its meeting with the Roadrunners, FIU will travel to El Paso to face UTEP on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 9:05 p.m. (ET).
 
- FIU will return to Lime Court at FIU Arena, for two-straight, on Thursday, Jan. 28, when it plays host to Charlotte ... The Panthers will then welcome Old Dominion to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 30 ... Both games will tipoff at 7 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
- Southern Miss comes into Saturday's game with a 4-11 record and a 1-3 record in Conference USA following a 58-51 loss at Florida Atlantic on Thursday ... The Golden Eagles are 2-5 in their last seven games.
 
- Southern Miss snapped a two-game losing streak with a 73-71 win over Old Dominion on Jan. 9, in Hattiesburg, for its lone C-USA win.
 
- Kourtlin Jackson leads two players in double-figures in the scoring column for Southern Miss, averaging 10.4 points-per-game ... Khari Price is a close second, netting 10.3 points-per-contest ... Eddie Davis III leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 5.7 boards-per-contest to go along with his 9.4 points-per-game.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST SOUTHERN MISS
- FIU and Southern Miss have met just two times all-time, with the series tied at 1-1 ... The Panthers defeated the Golden Eagles, 73-73 in overtime on Feb. 12, 2015.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU is coming off an impressive 88-74 wire-to-wire win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday night at home ... The win was the Panthers' fifth in its last six games.
 
- Donte McGill led the Panthers with a career-high 29 points - including 23 points in the first half - while Daviyon Draper chipped in 18 points in the win ... Adrian Diaz and Jason Boswell each added 11 points.
 
- FIU shot an impressive 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field - including a blistering 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the floor in the first half - and 50 percent (10-of-20) from behind the three-point arc ... The Panthers also shot 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the free-throw line on the night.