MIAMI, Fla. – Sophomore guard
Denver Jones led FIU with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting en route to the Panthers dominating Stony Brook (1-4) from start to finish with an 83-50 victory in the FIU MTE opener on Wednesday night inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. FIU hit a season-high 14 3-pointers, while forcing 20 Stony Brook turnovers for the contest to lift the Panthers to 3-2 overall on the season.
After leading for 32-plus minutes and falling within the final five minutes against Bryant on Saturday, Nov. 19, the Panthers came in with a 40-minute mindset and lived up to their expectations – leading for 37:59 of Wednesday night's contest.
FIU held the Seawolves to season-lows in field goal percentage (30.0%) and field goals made (15) for the contest, while disrupting Stony Brook defensively with their second-highest turnover mark on the season (20).
The 33-point win marked FIU's largest margin of victory over a DI opponent since a 107-61 victory versus Cleveland State on Nov. 19, 2019 (46 points).
FIU's 20 turnovers forced marked its second-highest tally of the season, converting 19 points in return for the contest off 13 steals, while also tallying 20 fast break points to Stony Brook's zero.
The Panthers finished the contest shooting 48.4 percent from the floor (31-of-64), while burying a season-best 14 threes at a 36.8 percent clip (14-for-38) and hitting a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line upon coming into the contest shooting 61.1 percent from the stripe.
Additionally, FIU dished a season-high 23 assists to season-low nine turnovers – seeing nine different Panthers score on the night.
Jones led the way with 26 points behind a career-high 10 field goals made, while also hitting a season-high four 3-pointers (4-of-7) to pair with three rebounds and two assists and steals apiece. The New Market, Alabama, native is now averaging 20.4 points on 62.7 percent shooting from the field – ranking him second amongst the Conference USA in both categories.
Freshman
Arturo Dean added 12 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe, five rebounds and assists each and two steals – leading the C-USA with 13 total steals on the season.
A quartet of Panthers finished with nine points each - highlighted by graduate forward
Nick Guadarrama on a season-high 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc (42.8%), while recording a season-best nine rebounds and dishing five assists.
Junior guard
Javaunte Hawkins pitched in with three 3-pointers (3-of-8) to pair with three rebounds and two steals, followed by junior center
Seth Pinkney with nine points and five rebounds. Furthermore, sophomore guard
Petar Krivokapic found his rhythm in 18 minutes off the bench, nailing 3-of-6 from beyond the arc (50.0%) to record a season-high nine points.
Freshman
Dashon Gittens added five points and two rebounds and assists apiece in 15 minutes
coming off C-USA Freshman of the Week honors.
FIU led by as much as 24 points in the first half, possessing a 38-21 halftime lead, though, the bulk of the damage would be done in the second half – in which the Panthers connected on 18-of-30 from the floor (60.0%) and 8-of-15 from 3-point range (53.3%) to bust the game open with 30-point margins.
The Panthers continue to receive healthy contributions from its bench, tallying 25 points from their reserves compared to Stony Brook's two, ranked 15
th in the nation in bench points heading into Wednesday night.
Additionally, the Panthers finished with the edge in rebounds for the contest, 38-34.
Postgame Press Conference - Head Coach Jeremy Ballard and graduate forward Nick Guadarrama:
UP NEXT
FIU returns to action inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, concluding the FIU MTE with a Sunday evening matchup against Eastern Washington on Nov. 27. Tip-off is slated for a 6 p.m. start to be broadcast on CUSA.tv.
TICKETS
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