BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 9, 2016) – – The FIU men's basketball team's season came to a close on Wednesday as the No. 11 seeded Panthers dropped a hard-fought 85-77 contest to No. 6 seed UTEP in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. FIU ends the season 13-19, while the Miners advance to face the No. 3 seed Marshall, on Thursday night, with a 19-13 record.
The Panthers got its offensive production during the night from the same trio that has been pacing the way all season long.
Donte McGill poured in 24 points while
Daviyon Draper chipped in 17 points and
Adrian Diaz added 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, and the 15 of his career.
After McGill gave FIU a quick 3-0 lead just 25 seconds in, UTEP took the lead and pushed it to as much as 15 points, twice in the first stanza, the second coming on a Terry Winn layup with 1:33 left in the half to make the score, 40-25. The Miners would eventually take an 11-point, 40-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Panthers came out in the second half with an eye on making a run, however UTEP responded on each possession until FIU put together a 20-10 run to cut the Miners' lead to one, 58-57, on the second of two made free throws by Draper with 9:13 left in the game. FIU tied the contest for the first time of the evening, at 62-all, on a corner three-point shot by McGill with 6:34 left.
After each team exchanged three-point field goals on the next two possessions, the second tying the game, once again at 65 on a trey by
Elmo Stephen with 5:53 left, Diaz hit two free throws to give the Panthers their first lead since a 3-2 advantage on the opening minutes, 66-65. FIU would get its advantage to as many as three, 70-67, on a Draper three – his final one of the night – with 4:19 left. That would be the last lead that the Panthers would hold the rest of the way.
The Miners would score the final 15 of the last 25 points in the game, including 7-of-7 from the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the win.
FIU shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the field on the night and 75 percent (21-of-28) from the free-throw line. The Panthers also dominated the boards outrebounding UTEP, 43-24, including 21-7 on the offensive glass which led to 25 second chance points. Unfortunately, FIU committed 17 turnovers leading to 30 Miners' points in the game.
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/.
