MIAMI (November 27, 2016) – The FIU men's basketball team was hoping to get on a roll heading into a tough three-game road stretch this week, and the Panthers did just that by winning their second-straight game and closing out its short two-game homestand with a 74-57 win over Binghamton on Sunday on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The win improves FIU to 3-4 on the year while the Bearcats even out at 4-4 on the season.
Michael Kessens recorded his 16
th career double-double – and his third at FIU – with an 18-point, 10-rebound outing, while
Donte McGill matched him in the scoring column with 18 points.
Eric Nottage and
Elmo Stephen chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench, accounting for 23 of the Panthers' 36 bench points.
The Panthers used a 9-0 first half run to open a close game up during the first 20 minutes of play. With the scored tied at 10-all FIU got four points from Kessens, a three-point shot from
Eric Nottage and a layup by McGill to extend its lead to what was, at that point, a game-high nine points, 19-10, with 10:16 left in the half.
The Panthers never looked back the rest of the half, extending their lead to as many as 18 points, 36-18, on a jumper by Lockett with 4:24 left in the stanza. They entered the locker room at the intermission with a 36-25 lead.
The Bearcats never challenged FIU in the second half as the Panthers shot a blistering 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the field in the final 20 minutes. FIU took its biggest advantage of the half, 21 points twice, with the last coming on a layup by Stephen to make the score 66-45 with 4:42 left in the game.
The Panthers finished the game hitting 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from behind the three-point arc.
FIU controlled the points in the paint, outscoring Binghamton 32-26 in the lane. The Panthers also dominated in second-chance points (14-5) and bench scoring (36-13), and took advantage of 12 Bearcats miscues that led to 15 points off turnovers.
FIU now heads out for three-straight on the road, tipping off with the first game of a two-game road trip beginning at Elon on Nov. 30 (7 p.m.). The Panthers will then head to South Carolina (Dec. 4, 2 p.m.) for a date against the Gamecocks and FIU alum – and South Carolina Head Coach – Frank Martin, '93. FIU closes out its road stretch at Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 11 at 8:15 p.m.
The Panthers will not return home until they begin a season-long, five-game stretch at FIU Arena, starting on Dec. 15 against Georgia Southern 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/.
