Game Details
UTEP 85, FIU 75
FIU (14-11, 5-7 C-USA), UTEP (8-15, 3-9 C-USA)
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 | 9 p.m. ET
El Paso, Texas | Don Haskins Center
 
The Basics
- The FIU men's basketball team got a career and game-high 26 points from Devon Andrews (Lorain, Ohio), however that would not be enough as the Panthers dropped their second-straight game on their Texas swing trip, 85-75, to UTEP in front of 5,094 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. Also joining Andrews in double-digits was Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina) and Willy Nunez, Jr. (Orlando, Florida) with 14 and 10 points, respectively. FIU drops to 14-11 on the year and 5-7 in Conference USA while the Miners improve to 8-15 overall and 3-9 in league play.
 
- FIU came out of the gate quickly scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the game, and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points, 19-7, on a fast break layup by Antonio Daye, Jr. (Durham, North Carolina) with 11:04 left in the half. The Panthers held UTEP without a field goal for just over the first six minutes of the contest. After FIU took its second 12-point advantage of the first stanza, 29-17, on a Michael Douglas (Sachse, Texas) trey with 5:25 left, the Miners put together a 12-0 run to tie the game at 29-all with 2:47 left on the clock. UTEP eventually scored the final six points of the half to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room at the break.  
 
-  The Miners pushed their halftime advantage to a game-high 16 points, 60-44, with 12:31 left in the contest seemingly pulling away and taking control of the game. The Panthers, however, like they have done all season long, battled back to cut the UTEP double-digit lead to six on four occasions in the final four minutes, but could not get any closer.
 
- On the night, UTEP shot 50.0 percent (28-for-56) from the field, while FIU hit at just a 38.5 percent (25-for-65) clip, including 28.6 percent (6-for-21) from behind the three-point arc. The Panthers forced the Miners into 25 turnovers while FIU had 17 miscues, however UTEP still held a 23-17 points-off-turnover advantage.
 
Notable
- Tonight's starters for FIU were: G Isaiah Banks (Conyers, Georgia); 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 0-1 with this lineup on the year.

- Beard, Jr.'s three steals against the Miners gives him 165 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 five assists gives him 336 for his FIU career – in just 56 career games … He sits second on the Panthers' all-time assist list behind Carlos Arroyo (459, 1997-01).  

- Through tonight's game with UTEP, Osasumwen Osaghae has 94 career blocked shots, good enough for sole possession of third all-time in school history.

- Devon Andrews' career-high 26 points marks his 19^th double-figure outing of the season … It is also his sixth 20-point outing of his FIU career.

- Isaiah Banks earned his first career start tonight against UTEP … Banks fell just shy of his 10^th career double-figure scoring game of his career, netting nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line … He also had a career-best four steals. 

Up Next
FIU will return home for its final two games before Conference USA Bonus Play begins, taking on Rice on Feb. 14, at 7 p.m., and North Texas on Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. ... The North Texas game will be Senior Day.

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