GAME 29: FIU vs. UTEP
Saturday, February 25, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 6-22, 2-13 C-USA
Last Game: L, 69-67 vs. UTSA, February 23, 2017
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 149-168/10th season
Record at FIU: 50-74/Fourth season
Top Players: Donte McGill (19.1 ppg, 44.4% FG), Michael Kessens (13.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg)       
 
UTEP MINERS
Record: 12-15, 10-5 C-USA
Last Game: W, 60-55 at Florida Atlantic, February 23 2017
Head Coach: Tim Floyd
Alma Mater: Louisiana Tech, 1977
Career Record: 462-272/23rd season
Record at school: 134-92/Seventh season
Top Players: Omega Harris (16.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Dominic Artis (15.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: PantherVision (CUSA-TV)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: UTEP leads, 8-1
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: For ticket information, contact the FIU athletic ticket office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263). Single game tickets start at just $10.
 
QUICK HITS
- The FIU men's basketball team closes out its 2016-17 home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 25 when it welcomes UTEP to Lime Court at FIU Arena ... Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. ... Fans who can't make it to the game can catch all of the action live on PantherVision (CUSA-TV) ... Prior to the game with the Miners, the Panthers will recognize the five players that will be playing their last game at FIU Arena - graduate student Michael Kessens, and seniors Anthony Boswell, Donte McGill, Eric Nottage and Elmo Stephen ... Following Saturday, FIU will play begin its final week of the season at Middle Tennessee on Thursday, March 2 (7:30 p.m.).
 
- FIU is coming off a 69-67 loss to UTSA on Feb. 23 ... Donte McGill led FIU with 22 points ... McGill comes into Senior Night with 976 career points, just 24 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau ... Michael Kessens added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds, falling just shy of his ninth double-double in an FIU uniform and the 22nd of his career, spanning Longwood, Alabama and FIU.
 
- McGill leads the team in scoring through 28 games, averaging 19.1 points-per-contest ... Kessens is averaging 13.3 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 9.2 rebounds-per-outing ... His rebounding average is tops in Conference USA ... Eric Nottage is also in double figures, netting 11.3 points-per-game.
 
- Anthony Evans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Panthers, and his 10th season overall ... FIU's game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15 was Evans's 300th of his head coaching career.
 
UP NEXT FOR FIU
- Following Saturday's game against UTEP, the Panthers close out the season at Middle Tennessee on March. 2 (7:30 p.m. ET) and at UAB on March 4 (8 p.m. ET).
 
SCOURING UTEP
- UTEP comes into Saturday with a 12-15 record and a 10-5 mark in Conference USA following its 60-55 win at Florida Atlantic on Thursday night ... The victory over the Owls was the Miners's fourth-straight and seventh in the last eight games ... After starting the season just 2-13, the Miners have gone 10-2 since, beginning with a 88-87 win over the Panthers on Jan. 12.
 
- Omega Harris leads three players in double digits in the scoring column on the year, averaging 16.5 points-per-game, while Dominic Artis is netting 15.0 points-per-outing ... Matt Willms rounds out the double-figure scorers, dropping in 11.5 points-per-game on the season ... Artis and Paul Thomas  are second and third, respectively, in rebounding grabbing 6.5 and 6.2 rebounds-per-contest.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST THE MINERS
- UTEP comes into Saturday's game with FIU, holding a commanding 8-1 series lead, dating back to the 1998-99 season ... The Panthers are 0-3 at home, 1-3 in El Paso, and 0-2 in neutral site games with those contests taking place over the last two seasons in the Conference USA Tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST UTEP
- The Panthers dropped an 88-87 double overtime loss to UTEP on Jan. 12 in El Paso ... The extra session affair was FIU's fourth overtime game of the season (0-4), with all four being decided by five points or less ... The Panthers placed six players in double figures, led by a career-high 16 points from Kimar Williams.
 
- Michael Kessens added 15 points against the Miners before fouling out of the game with 2:24 left in regulation ... Eric Nottage and Hassan Hussein each scored 13 points in the loss, with Hussein's point total marking a career-high ... Eric Lockett tied his career-high with 12 points and Elmo Stephen added 10 points.
 
- The Panthers shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) from the field, however just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from behind the three-point arc ... FIU was 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the charity stripe.
 
- UTEP outrebounded FIU 47-35, including 14-8 on the offensive glass, leading to 16 second chance points.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU is coming off a 69-67 loss to UTSA on Feb. 23 ... Donte McGill led FIU with 22 points ... Michael Kessens added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds, falling just shy of his ninth double-double in an FIU uniform and the 22nd of his career, spanning Longwood, Alabama and FIU.