Game Details
North Florida 87, FIU 85
FIU (5-5), UNF (5-7)
Jacksonville, Fla. | UNF Arena
 
The Basics
- Hassan Hussein (Lorton, Virginia) led five players in double figures with a career-high 18 points, however the FIU men's basketball team couldn't hang on down the stretch as North Florida handed the Panthers a tough 87-85 loss on Wednesday night at UNF Arena in Jacksonville, closing out FIU's short two-game Florida road trip. The setback snaps the Panthers' winning three-game streak, and evens their record at 5-5, while the Ospreys improve to 5-7 on the year.  
 
- In addition to Hussein's 18 points, including 12 in the second half, Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) and Willy Nunez, Jr. (Orlando, Florida/Freedom) added 16 points apiece. Trejon Jacob (Raleigh, North Carolina) and Eric Lockett (Warner Robins, Georgia) each chipped in with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Hussein grabbed a team-high six rebounds and Lockett fell one assist shy of equaling his career-high with six handouts.
 
- FIU forced the Ospreys into 18 turnovers on the night, while only committing seven of their own, however could not take advantage of the 20 points scored off the North Florida miscues. The Panthers also held a decisive 56-34 margin in points in the paint, but the high percentage shots could not translate into a win.
 
- FIU and North Florida found themselves embroiled in a dogfight for the majority of the first half, with the Panthers in the lead for the much of the first 20 minutes of play. Neither team led by more than six points in the first stanza. However, with the game tied at 36-all, with 4:17 left before the break, the Ospreys closed the first half scoring 11 of the final 15 points to take a 47-40 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
 
- As cold as the Panthers were to end the first half, the Blue and Gold came out just as hot to start the second stanza. FIU began the half on a 10-0 run to take a 50-47 lead on a jumper by Jacob with 16:09 left in the game. The Panthers got their lead to as many as eight points on a layup by Jacob with 9:48 left on the clock, but the Ospreys had other plans. North Florida stuck around and battled back until Ivan Gandia-Rosa gave the Ospreys the lead for good, 81-80, on two free-throws with 3:33 left in the game. FIU had its chances, cutting the lead to two points, with 1:53 left (83-81) and 1:13 left (85-83) before the final margin, but could not close the game out.
 
The Turning Point(s)
Two North Florida possessions can be looked at as turning points in the loss for the Panthers. The first came with 6:45 left in the game. With FIU leading 73-67, UNF's Gandia-Rosa drained a three-point shot and was fouled by Beard. Jr. Gandia-Rosa stepped to the line and completed the four-point play, cutting the Panthers lead to two, 73-71.

Then, with 3:33 left in the game and the Ospreys trailing 80-78, Gandia-Rosa was fouled again on a three-point attempt. He stepped to the line and hit all three shots to give North Florida the lead for good, 81-80.
 
Stat of the Game
FIU struggled once again from the free-throw line, hitting just 58.8 percent (10-for-17) while North Florida hit for 78.3 percent (18-for-23) of its shots from the charity stripe.. 
 
Notable
- Tonight's starters for FIU were: G Trejon Jacob, G Brian Beard, Jr., G Eric Lockett, F Hassan Hussein, C Elhadji Dieng (Mbour, Senegal) … The Panthers are 2-4 with this starting five.

- G Eric Lockett's 11 points marks his ninth double-figure scoring game of the season and the 13^th of his career … Lockett has netted double figures in 11 of his last 13 games dating back to the end 2016-17 season.

- G Brian Beard, Jr.'s 16 points marks his eighth double-figure scoring performance of the season, and the eighth-straight

- Beard, Jr. also recorded four steals against the Ospreys, marking his third-straight game with four-or-more steals.

- G Trejon Jacob netted double-figures for the ninth time this season with his 14 points, 10 coming in the second half.

- Hassan Hussein found himself in double figures for the third-straight game – and the third time this season – with his career-high 18 points … It is also Hussein's fourth-career double-figure scoring game. 

Up Next
The Panthers return to Miami for a season-long six-game stretch, beginning on Dec. 16, against James Madison (7:30 p.m.). The JMU game will be played at Barry University in Miami Shores, due to scheduling conflicts in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center that arose due to Hurricane Irma.

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