MIAMI (February 9, 2017) – Eric Nottage scored a team-high 18 points, including 14 points in the second half, and FIU had three other players score in double figures, but that wasn't enough as Rice got a game-high 27 points from Marcus Evans and 20 points from Egor Koulechov as the Owls handed the Panthers an 89-78 loss on Thursday night on Lime Court at FIU Arena.
The loss drops FIU to 5-19 on the year and 1-10 in Conference USA, while Rice improves to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in league play.
In addition to Nottage,
Donte McGill added 16 points and
Elmo Stephen and
Michael Kessens chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
On the night, the Panthers shot 40 percent (30-of-75) from the field and just 15.8 percent (3-of-19) from behind the three-point arc in the loss. FIU, ultimately, could not overcome Rice's 51.7 percent (31-of-60) shooting from the floor.
The Panthers, who led for just 3:59 in the game – all coming in the first half – jumped out of the gate quickly scoring the first six points of the contest on layups by Stephen, McGill and Stephen again. The Owls, however, strung together seven-straight points to take their first lead of the game, 7-6, on a three-point shot by Evans with 16:37 left in the half.
FIU regained and held the lead for nearly the next two minutes, but Koulechov got Rice back on top, 13-12, on a layup with 14:25 left in the first half.
Despite a
Hassan Hussein layup with 10:27 left in the half that tied the game at 18-all, the Owls eventually extended its advantage to 10 points, 44-34, with 1:31 left before the intermission. FIU went the last 3:44 of the first stanza without scoring a field goal as Rice took a 44-36 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Panthers kept the game within striking distance for the majority of the second half, including tying the game at 57-all on a Stephen three-point shot with 11:19 left in the game, and at 59-all with 9:34 on a layup by Kessens. But FIU could not find a way to get over the hump as the Owls put together a 21-11 run to take their biggest lead of the contest, 80-67, with 2:24 left to put the game out of reach
Rice held a slight advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Panthers 39-37, however FIU grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to the Owls' seven, leading to 15 second chance points. The Blue and Gold also controlled the paint in the loss, outscoring Rice in the lane, 50-44.
FIU closes out its short homestand against North Texas on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., before heading back out on the road for two-straight at Southern Miss on Feb. 16 (8 p.m. ET) and Louisiana Tech on Feb. 18 (7 p.m. ET).
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/.
