MIAMI (Jan. 30, 2016) – The FIU men's basketball team came into its game with Old Dominion on Saturday knowing the importance of picking up a win against the Monarchs. With its next two games on the road, against two of Conference USA's toughest teams, the Panthers certainly didn't want to head to UAB and Middle Tennessee next week having lost two straight.
Unfortunately, ODU had other ideas as the Monarchs handed FIU a 64-60 loss on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The loss, the Panthers' second-straight, levels FIU's record at 11-11 on the season, and 5-4 in C-USA.
Adrian Diaz led the Panthers with 21 points while
Daviyon Draper added 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.
The Panthers held Old Dominion to just 40.3 percent (25-of-62) shooting from the field and 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from behind the three-point arc, but FIU could not overcome being outrebounded, 43-29, including 20-8 on the offensive boards. The 20 offensive rebounds for the Monarchs led to a 22-10 advantage for ODU in second chance points. In addition, the Monarchs' bench outscored the Panthers' reserves, 20-7.
FIU fell behind quickly, 6-0, just 2:02 into the contest, however battled back to take it's first of two leads on the night, 10-9, when
Elmo Stephen hit a three-point shot with 11:23 left in the half.
Old Dominion would regain the advantage and push it to a game-high 10 points, 25-15, with 4:17 left before the break. The Panthers would seemingly gain momentum closing out the half on a 9-1 run to enter the locker room at the break, down two, 26-24.
FIU couldn't take full advantage of closing out the first half strong, however, Diaz kept the Panthers in the game, scoring eight of their first 12 points of the half. His efforts helped get FIU to within one, 37-36, highlighted by a dunk off an assist from Draper with 12:28 left.
Diaz then got then Panthers back on top, 38-37, for the second, and final time, of the night off another Draper assist with 11:48 left.
FIU would find itself trailing by one-point, four different times, but could not regain the lead.
The Monarchs would hit seven of their eight free throws in the final five minutes to secure the win.
Kimar Williams scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds, and
Elmo Stephen netted seven points in the loss.
Despite only grabbing three rebounds on the night, Diaz surpassed 400 rebounds for his career at FIU. He finished the game with 402 career boards with the Panthers. He is currently four rebounds shy of grabbing his 500th career collegiate rebound at both Kansas State and FIU.
FIU will head back on the road for two crucial league games against two of Conference USA's best teams, beginning with first place UAB on Thursday, Feb. 4. Tipoff from Bartow Arena is slated for 7 p.m. (ET). The game can be see live on the American Sports Network. Check your local television listings to see if the game will be shown in your area. The Panthers will then head to the Volunteer state to butt heads with Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. (ET).
FIU will return home on Thursday, Feb. 11 to face UTEP, before welcoming UTSA to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Feb. 13. Both games 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/.
