MIAMI (March 5, 2018) – FIU men's basketball standout Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) has been rewarded after an impressive first season with the Panthers, earning Third-Team All-Conference USA honors along with being named to the C-USA All-Defensive Team, the league announced on Monday.
 
Beard, Jr., a junior guard, finished the regular season leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.9 points-per-contest, which is good enough for eighth in Conference USA. He is also tops on the team, and fourth in C-USA in assists, handing out 5.7 per-outing.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Beard, Jr. has led the conference all season in steals, and has been among the nation's leaders in Division I, currently ranking third in the nation. The California native finished the regular season, averaging 3.0 thefts-per-game. He has registered five-or-more steals in a game six times this year. On March 1, at Charlotte, Beard, Jr. became FIU's single season steals leader surpassing the 87 steals set by Carlos Morban during the 2001-02 campaign. Beard, Jr. currently has 89 steals on the year.
 
Beard, Jr. will lead FIU into the 2018 C-USA Basketball Championships presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas this week. The Panthers, seeded No. 8, begin play in the championships on Wednesday, March 7, when they take on the No. 9 Seed Southern Miss at 7 p.m. ET. The winner faces the regular season champion, and No. 1 seed, Middle Tennessee on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
All four first round games on March 7, can be seen on Facebook Live.
 
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