MIAMI (Jan. 28, 2016) – The FIU trio of
Daviyon Draper,
Adrian Diaz and
Donte McGill combined for 54 of the FIU men's basketball team's 69 points, but that wasn't enough as Charlotte handed the Panthers a disappointing 72-69 loss on Thursday night on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The loss, which snaps the Panthers' modest two-game winning streak, drops FIU to 11-10 on the season and 5-3 in Conference USA.
The Panthers got a game-high 24 points from Draper, one off his career-high, and Diaz and McGill added 17 and 13 points, respectively, however the 49ers won the battle of the boards, 37-33, including a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to 17 second chance points.
FIU shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field for the game, including an impressive 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the first half.
The Panthers never led by more than two points during the evening, with all but one of their advantages coming in the first 20 minutes.
After Charlotte (7-13, 4-4 C-USA) led by one, 37-36, at the break, the 49ers would push their lead to a game-high seven points, 63-56, with 6:39 left in the contest on a three-point shot by Braxton Ogbueze, and then again, 67-60 on a layup by Anthony Vanhook with 3:15 left in the game.
FIU would have one last opportunity to grab victory from the jaws of defeat despite trailing by five, 71-66, with five seconds remaining on the clock.
With time running out, Draper launched a three-point shot and hit the attempt while getting fouled on the play as time expired, cutting the 49ers lead to two, 71-69. After reviewing the play, the officials put 1.4 seconds on the clock. Draper stepped to the line and intentionally missed the attempt hoping for an FIU tip in to tie the contest, only to have Charlotte grab the rebound to secure the win.
In addition to his 17 points, Diaz rejected a game- and season-high eight blocked shots, which also equaled the second-highest total of his collegiate career.
FIU closes out its short two-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 30, when it welcomes Old Dominion to Lime Court at FIU Arena. Tip off at 7 p.m.
For men's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUHoops 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 at the FIU Football Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
