MOBILE, ALABAMA (November 19, 2016) – The FIU men's basketball team closed out the 2016 Red Diamond Roundball Classic on Sunday with a 78-73 loss to Youngstown State. The loss drops the Panthers to 1-4 on the year while the Penguins improve to 2-3.
Michael Kessens led the way for FIU with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds.
Donte McGill added 17 points in the loss. In addition to Kessens' eight boards,
Eric Nottage also pulled down eight rebounds, one shy of tying his career-high.
Youngstown State's Cameron Morse who came into weekend as the nation's leading scorer, poured in a game-high 29 points in the win for the Penguins.
As was the case in its previous two games of the Classic, FIU found itself in a close knit affair going to the intermission tied at 29-all despite a solid first half from Kessens, who scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
The Panthers would lead by as many as five points in the second half, 53-48, on a layup by
Anthony Boswell with nine minutes left in the game.
Youngstown State would battle its way back, taking the lead for good, 67-66, on a three-point shot by Morse with 2:22 left.
Down the stretch, FIU would get as close as three, 71-68, on a dunk by
Cameron Smith with 38 seconds left, however could not get any closer the rest of the way.
The Panthers finished the game shooting 43.3 percent (25-of-56) from the field on the afternoon.
The Panthers return to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Nov. 23 when they butt heads with Ave Maria in a pre-Thanksgiving tilt 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/.
