MIAMI (March 21, 2019) – FIU men's basketball standout Brian Beard, Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, California) has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 11 Second Team, the organization announced on Thursday. The honor for Beard, Jr. comes off being named to the All-Conference USA Second Team and the C-USA All-Defensive Team, prior to the C-USA Tournament.
 
Click here for complete NABC All-District release.
 
Beard, Jr., a senior guard, is averaging 17.3 points-per-contest, which is good enough for sixth in Conference USA. Earlier this season, Beard, Jr. became the seventh player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He is also tops on the team, and second in C-USA, in assists, handing out 6.1 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 fourth in steals-per-game (2.9) and total steals (94). He has registered five-or-more steals in a game six times this year. For the second-straight season, Beard, Jr. set the school's single-season steals mark, and moved into second place on FIU's all-time steals list with 184. 
 
Beard, Jr., and the rest of his FIU teammates, will return to the court on March 23, at 7 p.m. ET, when the Panthers face Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, in the first round of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament. The meeting between FIU and Texas State can be seen live on WatchCIT.com.
 
This season, FIU recorded its first winning season – 19-13 overall and 10-8 in Conference USA play – since 2012-13 (18-14) and only its second winning campaign since 1999-00 (16-14). Since going to Division I to start the 1986-87 campaign, and including this season, the Panthers have recorded just six seasons with an overall record of .500-or-better. FIU's 19 wins are the third most since moving to Division I, while it's 10 C-USA victories are the fourth most league wins in program history.

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