GAME 11: FIU vs. Georgia Southern

Thursday, December 15, 2016 | 7 p.m.

Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla. | PantherVision (CUSA TV)
 

Record: 3-7, 0-0 C-USA

Last Game: L, 82-63 at FGCU, December 11, 2016

Head Coach: Anthony Evans

Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994  

Career Record: 146-153/10th season

Record at FIU: 47-59/Fourth season

Top Players: Donte McGill (19.8 ppg, 45.0% FG), Michael Kessens (14.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg)
 

Record: 5-5, 0-0 Sun Belt

Last Game: W, 72-59 at FGCU, December 13, 2016

Head Coach: Mark Byington

Alma Mater: UNC Wilmington, 1994

Career Record: 63-54/Fourth season

Record at school: Same

Top Players: Ike Smith (19.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Tookie Brown (13.8 ppg, 4.4 apg)
 

TV/Video: PantherVision (CUSA TV)

Josh Appel (Play-by-play)

Pete Pelegrin (Color analyst)

Radio/Audio: None

Live Stats: FIUSports.com

Series: Georgia Southern leads, 3-0 

Twitter: @FIUHoops

Tickets: For ticket information, contact the FIU athletic ticket office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263). Single game tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on game day.

QUICK HITS

- The FIU men's basketball team returns home following a three-game road stretch to begin a season-long five-game homestand beginning on Dec. 15 when it welcomes Georgia Southern to Lime Court at FIU Arena ... Game time against the Eagles is slated for 7 p.m. ... Fans who can't make it out to FIU Arena can watch the game live on PantherVision (CUSA TV) with Josh Appel calling the action and Pete Pelegrin providing the color commentary ... Thursday's game is the first of two that the Panthers will play during a three-day stretch and the first of three in seven days before the holiday break ... Following the Georgia Southern game, FIU will face Northern Illinois on Dec. 17 (7 p.m.) and North Florida on Dec. 21 (7 p.m.) ... The Panthers close out the five games at home, beginning Conference USA play against Marshall (Dec. 31, 1 p.m.) and WKU (Jan. 2, 7 p.m.), respectively. 
 

- FIU is coming off an 82-63 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 11 in Fort Myers ... Donte McGill was one of two players in double figures for the Panthers, netting a game-high 25 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from behind the three-point arc, and a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe ... Michael Kessens was the Panthers' only other player in double figures with 14 points.
 

- McGill leads the team in scoring through 10 games this season, averaging 19.8 points-per-contest, which is also fourth in Conference USA and 58th in Division I (through games of Dec. 13) ... Kessens is averaging a double-double, netting 14.4 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 11.3 rebounds-per-outing ... Kessens' rebounding average is tops in C-USA and eighth in Division I (through games of Dec. 13) ... Eric Nottage rounds out the double-digit scorers netting 11.4 points-per-contest.
 

- Anthony Evans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Panthers, and his 10th season overall as a head coach, at both Norfolk State and FIU ... Thursday's game against Georgia Southern will be Evans' 300th of his head coaching career.
 

- Following Thursday's game with Georgia Southern, FIU will have a quick turnaround as it faces Northern Illinois on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. ... The Panthers will then play their final game before the holiday break - and their final non-conference game of the season - on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. when in-state foe North Florida visits Miami ... FIU closes out its five-game homestand beginning Conference USA play against Marshall (Dec. 31, 1 p.m.) and WKU (Jan. 2, 7 p.m.), respectively. 
 

- Georgia Southern comes into Thursday's game against FIU with a 5-5 record following a 72-59 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night in Fort Myers ... It was the second time in nine days that Georgia Southern faced FGCU ... Ike Smith and Tookie Brown led the way for the Eagles with 16 and 15 points, respectively while Mike Hughes added 12 points in the win ... Smith also grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
 

- On the year, Georgia Southern has been led by Smith, averaging 19.9 points-per-game, while Brown is netting 13.8 points-per-outing ... Mike Hughes falls just under double digits in the scoring column, averaging 9.9 points-per-contest ... Montae Glenn is pulling down a team-high 4.8 rebounds-per-game.
 

- Georgia Southern comes into Thursday's game against the Panthers with a 3-0 series lead all-time against FIU ... The Panthers are 0-1 against the Eagles in Miami with the last game being played at FIU on Feb. 1, 1992 (L, 78-72) - the inaugural meeting - when both schools were members of the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) ... The two last met on Nov. 24, 2014 (L, 78-72) in Statesboro, Georgia.
 

- The Eagles are 2-0 against the Panthers while both schools were members of the TAAC.
 

- Former Panthers' standout Adrian Diaz scored a career-high 33 points, but that was not enough, as the FIU men's basketball team fell to Georgia Southern, 78-72, on Nov. 24. 2014 in Statesboro ... Diaz drained 33 points while also recording seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 37 minutes of action ... He went 12-of-16 from the field ... Teammate Daviyon Draper was the team's second leading scorer, checking in with nine points ... Tashawn Desir was strong for the Panthers defensively, recording a career-high six steals to lead the Panthers ... FIU trailed by just two with 1:27 to go, but the Eagles made their free throws down the stretch to secure a 78-72 victory.
 

- Diaz' 33 points against the Eagles ranked tied for seventh in program history and it was the most points for an FIU player in a single game since DeJuan Wright netted 35 points versus South Alabama on Feb. 25, 2012 ... Meanwhile, his 12 made field goals marked the third time in the last two seasons that an FIU player had made 12 field goals in a game ... Tymell Murphy drained 12 field goals in games vs. North Texas and at Marshall during the 2013-14 campaign.