Game Details
Southern Miss 89, FIU 73
FIU (13-9, 4-5 C-USA), Southern Miss (13-9, 5-5 C-USA)
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019 | 7 p.m.
Miami, Florida | Ocean Bank Convocation Center
 
The Basics
- The FIU men's basketball team placed four players in double figures in the scoring column, including a team-high 21 points from Willy Nunez, Jr. (Orlando, Florida) and 13 points from Devon Andrews (Lorain, Ohio), however the Panthers could not overcome a hot shooting night by Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles handed FIU its second-straight loss, 89-73, on Thursday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. The loss drops the Panthers to 13-9 on the year and a 4-5 in Conference USA while Southern Miss improves to 13-9 overall and 5-5 in league play.
 
- The Golden Eagles shot 59.4 percent (38-for-64) from the field on the night, including an impressive 63.3 percent (19-for-30) in the first half. FIU hit 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the floor and a season-high 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free-throw line.
 
- The Panthers dug themselves into a hole early, however battled back from two double-digit deficits in the first half. After trailing by 10, 16-6, FIU fought back scoring the next 10 points to tie the game at 16-all on an Isaiah Banks (Conyers, Georgia) three-point shot with 14:47 left in the half. Southern Miss, however, would go on a 16-0 run to push its lead to 30-16, prompting the Panthers to call a timeout. After exchanging baskets, FIU put together its own run – a 16-4 stretch – to claw its way back into the contest. The run was capped by a driving layup by Devon Andrews (Lorain, Ohio) with 7:01 left in the half, cutting the Golden Eagles' lead to two points, 34-32. The Panthers got the Southern Miss lead down to one, twice in the final six minutes, but after its second one-point deficit, the Golden Eagles closed out the half by scoring the final eight points of the first stanza to take a 47-38 lead into the locker room at the intermission.   
 
- FIU would stay within striking distance for the first five-plus minutes of the second half, however, after cutting the lead to two, 49-47, on an Elhadji Dieng (Mbour, Senegal) layup with 14:28 left in the game, Southern Miss scored 10 of the next 12 points to get the lead back to double-digits. The Panthers would not threaten the rest of the night.   
 
- In addition to Nunez, Jr. and Andrews, Osasumwen Osaghae (Miami, Florida) and Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina) added 12 points apiece. Osaghae led the way with a game-high nine rebounds, falling one board shy of his fifth-career double-double.
 
Quotable
FIU Men's Basketball Head Coach Jeremy Ballard Opening statement ...
"The frustration really stems from our lack of ability to string together stops. We took about five-to-six minutes before we even forced them to miss a shot at the start of the game. That was kind of a microcosm of the way the game would play out. We made our run, which we typically do, but we never fully flipped the switch and stringing together stops. They are a very good defensive team, they are a very good offensive team, and they are very well coached. They have an identity of what they do. They have a game plan and they executed that. We did not execute our game plan and that is frustrating. We have to do a lot better."
 
Jeremy Ballard on Southern Miss handling FIU's full court press, and his takeaways from tonight's loss ...
"They have two really good senior guards, who are excellent ball handlers, and they (Southern Miss) are maybe the best team in the country at taking care of the ball in terms of turnovers-per-game. They do not turn it (the ball) over. We didn't score consistently enough to be able to get into our full-court pressure. We had too many turnovers, too many missed shots, so it didn't allow us to set up and get into our defense, and get into a rhythm of getting after them. They are a good ball club. We knew we weren't just going to be able to take the ball from them but we certainly could have done better."
 
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 3-5 with this lineup on the year.

- Beard, Jr.'s two steals against the Owls gives him 158 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 seven assists gives him 318 for his FIU career – in just 53 career games … He sits second on the Panthers' all-time assist list behind Carlos Arroyo (459, 1997-01).  

- Devon Andrews' 13 points marks his 17^th career double-figure scoring performance with the Panthers.

- Through tonight's game with Southern Miss, Osasumwen Osaghae has 85 career blocked shots, good enough for sole possession of fourth all-time in school history … With his one rejections against the Golden Eagles, Osaghae is now five blocks shy of tying, and six blocks from surpassing, Russell Hicks (90, 2007-08) who currently hold third on the school's blocked shots list.    

- Willy Nunez, Jr.'s 21 points marks his 12^th double-figure scoring performance of the season, and the 16^th of his FIU career … It was also Nunez, Jr.'s second-career 20-point game in a Panthers uniform, falling one-point shy of equaling his career-high of 22 set against Florida Memorial on Dec. 20 … Nunez, Jr. has scored double-digits in three out of the last five games. 

Up Next
FIU closes out its three-game homestand at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 2. Game time is at 7 p.m. The Panthers will then hit the road for two-straight, at UTSA on Feb. 5 (8 p.m. ET), and at UTEP on Feb. 7 (9 p.m. ET).

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