Athens, Ga. – The FIU men's basketball team led as late as the 10:04 mark of the second half before an 8-0 run by Georgia down the stretch handed them a 58-51 setback in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
 
The Panthers led by as many as seven points in a game that featured eight lead changes and three ties. 
 
Junior Tevin Brewer paced FIU with a team-best 14 points.  Freshman Denver Jones also logged 13. 
 
FIU was hot from the three-point stripe in the early going - connecting on 7-of-16 from deep in the opening 20 minutes before finishing the contest 9-of-27 overall.
 
Defensively, the Panthers limited the Bulldogs to just a 35.1 clip from the field and forced a total of 15 turnovers – 11 in the first half.
 
The Panthers got off to a hot start as they raced out to an 11-4 advantage in the early moments of the initial half as Brewer, Isaiah Banks and Eric Lovett all connected on a three-pointer in the opening five minutes of regulation.
 
FIU trailed for only a span of 2:16 in the first half before responding with a 12-4 spurt to close the period which was highlighted by a three-pointer that just beat the final buzzer of the first half by Denver Jones - sending the Panthers into the locker room with a 27-22 edge.
 
The Bulldogs opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt over the first four minutes, before FIU responded with a 13-3 run of its own to reclaim the lead at 40-36 with 12:59 left.
 
Georgia went on an 8-0 run after the teams were deadlocked at 42-42 with 8:14 remaining to clinch the victory.  The Panthers battled back to get within 51-48 with just under three minutes left before the Bulldogs scored six of the final seven points of the contest.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will tip off the home portion of the 2021-22 schedule on Friday, Nov. 12 against Trinity College (Fla.) in a 7 p.m. ET tip from the Ocean Convocation Center on the FIU campus.
 
TICKETS
For more information on tickets, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit HERE.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUHoops), Twitter (@FIUHoops), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensBball) for all the latest Men's Basketball news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.