Game Details
FIU 78, Florida Atlantic 74
FIU (13-7, 4-3 C-USA), Florida Atlantic (11-9, 2-5 C-USA)
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019 | 7 p.m.
Boca Raton, Florida | FAU Arena
 
The Basics
- The FIU men's basketball team turned in two key defensive stops in the final four seconds, and Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina) hit two free throws with less than one second left to secure the victory for the Panthers, as FIU pulled out a thrilling 78-74 win over Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night in Boca Raton. The win improves the Panthers to 13-7 on the year and 4-3 in Conference USA, while the Owls drop to 11-9 overall and 2-5 in league play. The victory for FIU also marked its 10^th come-from-behind win this season and its fifth coming back to win from a double-digit deficit.
 
- Devon Andrews (Lorain, Ohio) led four players in double figures with 19 points, while Trejon Jacob (Raleigh, North Carolina) added 15 points and Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) chipped in with 14 points. Daye, Jr, finished with 10 points in the win. Beard, Jr. dished out nine assists, falling one shy of equaling his career-high.
 
- FIU found themselves down by as many as 10 points in the first half, 18-8, when the Owls' Anthony Adger hit a driving layup with 12:02 left on the clock. After exchanging baskets on the next two possessions, the Panthers would put together a 10-0 run to take the lead, 21-20, on a Jacob three with 7:56 left before the intermission. That run would extend to a 14-0 stretch before the Owls ended a scoring drought of better than five minutes. FIU closed the first half hitting 11 of its 14 shots from the field to end the stanza and take a 40-34 lead into the locker room at the break.


 
- In the second half, the Panthers eventually pushed their lead to as many as 12 points when Beard, Jr., who with under seven minutes left in the contest had just two points, drained three-straight three-point shots on consecutive possessions to make the score 72-60 with 5:27 left. Florida Atlantic cut the lead to two, twice in the final 68 seconds, the last coming on a Michael Forrest trey with 16 seconds remaining. After the Panthers missed two attempts from the charity stripe with 14 seconds left, giving the Owls the ball back, FAU was not able to overcome FIU's tough defense and convert on a driving layup on the right side of the lane and the rebound put-back that would have tied the game.  
 
- On the night, FIU finished the contest shooting 47.5 percent (29-for-61) from the field and 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from behind the three-point arc, its best three-point shooting percentage this season.
 
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, Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina); and C Osasumwen Osaghae (Miami, Florida) … FIU is 3-3 with this lineup on the year.

- Despite FIU forcing Florida Atlantic into just 10 turnovers on the night (a season low for the Panthers), it benefited with 14 points off the Owls' miscues.

- FIU's win over Florida Atlantic improves its all-time record against the Owls to 24-18 (one win vacated due to NCAA sanctions) … The Panthers have won two of the last three games and eight of the last 11.

- Brian Beard, Jr.'s 14 points marks his 45^th career double figure scoring game.

- Beard, Jr.'s one steal against the Owls gives him 154 for his career … He is currently in sole possession of fourth all-time on FIU's career steals list surpassing Patrick McDonald (147, 1982-86) against Old Dominion on Jan. 12 … Next up is Dwight Stewart in third place (172, 1988-91).

- In addition, Beard, Jr.'s nine assists gives him 309 for his FIU career – in just 51 career games … He sits second on the Panthers' all-time assist list behind Carlos Arroyo (459, 1997-01).  

- Through tonight's game with Florida Atlantic, Osasumwen Osaghae has 81 career blocked shots, good enough for sole possession of fifth all-time in school history.   

- With Willy Nunez, Jr.'s nine points, he fell one-point shy of his 16^th double-figure scoring performance in 26 career games for the Panthers.

- Antonio Daye, Jr.'s 10 points marks the 10^th double-figure scoring performance of his short FIU career, and his sixth in the last seven games.

- Daye. Jr. recorded a career-high seven assists against FAU. 

Up Next
The Panthers return home for a big three-game homestand, beginning on Jan. 26, against FAU. FIU will also take on Southern Miss on Jan. 31, and Louisiana Tech on Feb. 2. All three games start at 7 p.m.

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