MIAMI (November 11, 2016) – The FIU men's basketball team officially tipped off its 2016-17 season on Friday night, and did so with a commanding 76-57 win over Florida Memorial on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The win marks the Panthers' third-straight season-opening win and their fourth in the last six years.

Donte McGill led the way with a game-high 25 points and Kimar Williams added 10 points in the victory. Eric Nottage paced the way for FIU on the glass, with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Panthers (1-0) shook the rust off in the second half after leading by just 10 points, 30-20, at the intermission and extended their lead on Florida Memorial (0-3) to as many as 26 points four times in the final six minutes of play.

FIU shot a blistering 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the second stanza and 54 percent (27-50) from the floor on the night. The Panthers' 54 percent clip is the highest since shooting 57.7 percent (30-of-52) against UTSA on Feb. 13, 2016.

In addition to Nottage's seven rebounds, Mike Kessens and Kimar Williams grabbed six rebounds apiece. Kessens also tied a career-high with four assists and Eric Lockett had a career-best four helpers en route to the win.

The Panthers now head out on the road for four-straight games, beginning at Stetson on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. FIU will then travel to Mobile, Alabama, where it will take part in the 2016 Red Diamond Roundball Classic, hosted by the University of South Alabama. During the three-day event, the Panthers will face the host Jaguars (Nov. 18, 8:05 p.m. ET), Jacksonville (Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m. ET) and Youngstown State (Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m. ET). FIU will not return to Lime Court at FIU Arena until Nov. 23 when it butt heads with Ave Maria at 7 p.m.

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/.