Game Details
Arkansas 121, FIU 89
FIU (7-2), Arkansas (5-1)
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 | 8 p.m. ET
Fayetteville, Arkansas | Bud Walton Arena
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The Basics
- The FIU men's basketball team could not overcome a hot shooting first half by Arkansas as the Razorbacks handed the Panthers a 121-89 loss on Saturday night, in front of 8,920 fans at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The loss snaps FIU's four-game losing streak and drops the Panthers to 7-2 on the year. Arkansas improves to 5-1 overall.
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Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) led FIU with 21 points, while
Trejon Jacobs (Raleigh, North Carolina) chipped in with 20.
Antonio Daye, Jr. had 15 points, and
Willy Nunez, Jr. (Orlando, Florida) and
Isaiah Banks (Conyers, Georgia) added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Beard, Jr, and Jacobs shared team-high rebounding honors with eight boards apiece.
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- Arkansas jumped out to a quick 13-point lead with, twice, in the first nine-plus minutes of the contest, the last coming with 10:58 left in the half, 24-11, on a jumper by Jalen Harris. The Panthers, showed some resolve, and battled back with a 9-0 run to cut the Razorbacks lead to four points, 24-20, when
Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina) hit the second of two free-throw attempts with 8:29 left in the half. That would be as close as FIU would get the rest of the way as Arkansas extended the lead and took a 58-35 lead into the locker room at the break. The Panthers shot just 28.6 percent (10-for-35) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play while the Razorbacks shot at a 55.3 percent (21-for-38) clip.
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- Arkansas continued its hot shooting in the second stanza, hitting 67.7 percent (21-for-31) on its shots in the final 20 minutes of play en route to a 60.9 percent (42-for-69) performance for the night. The Panthers finished the game hitting just 37.3 percent (31-for-83) of their shots from the floor on the night, despite improving in the second half to 43.8 percent (21-for-48). Â Â
Notable
- Tonight's starters for FIU were: G
Trejon Jacob (Raleigh, North Carolina); G Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California); F
Devon Andrews (Lorain, Ohio); F,
Willy Nunez, Jr. (Orlando, Florida); and C
Elhadji Dieng (Mbour, Senegal) … FIU is 1-1 with this lineup on the year.
- Arkansas 13 three-pointers made (13-for-25) is the most hit against FIU since Elon went 13-for-38 against the Panthers on Nov. 17, 2017.
- FIU gave up 100-or-more points for the first time since Jan. 30, 2010 when Florida Atlantic defeated the Panthers 106-86.
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Brian Beard, Jr.'s 21 points marks his 37
th career double figure scoring game, and his 15
th-career 20-point effort.
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Trejon Jacob's 20 points marks his fifth double-figure scoring performance of the season and the 29
th of his FIU career ... It is also his eighth career game of 20-or-more points.
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Willy Nunez, Jr.'s 13 points marks his 10
th double-figure scoring performance in 15 career games for the Panthers.
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Antonio Daye, Jr.'s 15 points is his fourth double-figure scoring performance, and was one off his career-high.
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Isaiah Banks' 11 points was his fourth double-figure effort of the season, and the sixth of his career.
- FIU had two players – Beard, Jr. (21) and Jacob (20) – score 20-or-more points for the first time since Nov. 7, 2018, against Webber International when
Devon Andrews had 23 and Beard, Jr. had 20. Â
Up Next
Following a break for final exams, FIU returns home on Dec. 13, for the first of three-straight games against Florida foes, beginning with North Florida (7 p.m.). The Panthers will also face USF on Dec. 18, and Florida Memorial on Dec. 20. Both games will also be at 7 p.m.
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