MIAMI (January 19, 2017) – The FIU men's basketball team came into tonight's game against Middle Tennessee looking to pick up a big win against Conference USA's hottest team, but instead the Blue Raiders showed just why they are sitting atop the league standings as Middle handed the Panthers a 65-52 loss on Thursday night on Lime Court at FIU Arena.
The Panthers drop to 4-15 on the year and 0-6 in Conference USA, while the Blue Raiders improve to 16-3 on the season and 6-0 in league play.
Donte McGill and
Michael Kessens combined for 33 of the Panthers' 52 points, however only four of their teammates found the scoring column, with
Eric Nottage leading that group with six points.
FIU, who shot just 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range, could not overcome Middle Tennessee's 51.1 percent (24-of-47) shooting from the floor on the night. The Blue Raiders also outrebounded the Panthers, 32-24. It was the third-straight game that FIU was outrebounded after holding the advantage on the glass in 13 of the first 16 games of the year.
FIU fell behind early and by as many as nine points before it came back and took the lead when
Elmo Stephen capped a 12-2 run with a deep straight-on three-point shot with nine minutes left in the half to put the Panthers up 21-20.
FIU kept the game close for nearly the next five minutes with McGill tying the game at 25-all on a jumper with 5:36 left in the first stanza. The Blue Raiders bent but would not break as they closed out the half scoring the final 12 points.
The Panthers were kept at arm's length the entire second half and, despite getting the Middle double-digit lead down to 10 points on a layup by Kessens with 7:11 left in the game, the Blue Raiders would push their lead to a game-high 18 points three different times en route to the win.
The Panthers continue their three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 21 when they welcome UAB, another one of Conference USA's upper echelon teams, to FIU Arena. Tipoff against the Blazers is slated for 7 p.m. FIU closes out its brief home stretch on Thursday, Jan. 26 against longtime conference rival Florida Atlantic 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/.
