FRISCO, Texas (March 11, 2020) – The fifth-seeded FIU men's basketball team began the C-USA Basketball Championships with a contest against 12th-seeded Rice on Wednesday night. The Panthers topped the Owls 85-76, advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

With the win, FIU improves to 19-13 this year, while Rice moves to 15-17 this season. The victory is FIU's first at the C-USA Tournament since defeating UTSA in 2015. The Panthers are now 2-4 all-time in the C-USA Tournament.

The Panther squad began the game shooting 45.5% from the field in the first half and led Rice 35-28 when the teams went to the locker rooms. FIU outscored the Owls 20-10 in the paint, and the Panther bench accounted for 14 points during the opening stanza. Osasumwen Osaghae led FIU with 12 points to start the contest and recorded three blocks.

Coming out of the break, the Panthers went 16-25 overall and 3-6 from beyond the arc in half. FIU outscored the Owls 50-48 to come away with the 85-76 victory.

Overall, FIU went 53.4% from the field in the win. Trejon Jacob posted a team-high 21 points along with five rebounds during the contest. Antonio Daye, Jr. (20), Osaghae (17), and Eric Lovett (11) also recorded double-digit points for the Panthers.

UP NEXT
FIU continues its tournament run when the squad takes on fourth-seeded Charlotte on Thursday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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