MIAMI, Fla. – A cold night from beyond the arc and at the free-throw line would come back to haunt the FIU men's basketball team during Wednesday night's contest against Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles (2-6) rallied to outscore the Panthers by 20 in the second half to see FIU fall 80-68 inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.  
 
The loss drops the Panthers to 4-3 on the season, as Eastern Michigan moves to 2-6 overall.
 
FIU shot a mere 45.8 percent on 11-of-24 shooting from the free-throw line, while enduring a painfully cold night from 3-point range on 1-of-15 shooting (6.7%) to plague the Panthers down the stretch.
 
Despite the rough shooting in the aforementioned areas, FIU managed to still finish the contest 49.1 percent from the floor (28-of-57), highlighted by netting 52 of its 68 points inside the paint.
 
Eastern Michigan, however, would come alive in the second half, hitting 20-of-32 shots (62.5%) to outscore the Panthers 53-33 over the final 20 minutes, including shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-9) and 90 percent from the line (9-of-10).
 
Freshmen Arturo Dean and Dashon Gittens led the Panthers with 14 points each, as Dean also dished two assists, while Gittens recorded a career-high five rebounds, two steals and a block. Graduate guard John Williams Jr. rounds out FIU's double-figure scorers with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block.
 
Sophomore forward Mohamed Sanogo contributed nine points, including a career-best five free throws, and four rebounds, while Javaunte Hawkins also finished with nine points – hitting FIU's lone three of the night – to pair with two assists and steals apiece. Additionally, gradute forward Nick Guadarrama added six points, a team-high six rebounds and two assists and steals apiece.
 
The Eagles finished the contest 49.2 percent from the field overall (30-of-61), including 8-of-24 from beyond the arc (33.3%) and 85.7 percent from the line (12-of-14), led by Emoni Bates and Noah Farrakhan with 26 and 25 points, respectively. Bates also added a game-high eight rebounds.
 
The Panthers shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half (16-of-32), as FIU led 22-19 prior to rattling off a 9-0 run that would push their largest lead of the night, 31-19, with 3:49 left in the half. Williams Jr. finished a pair of tough reverse layups to spark the run, as Arturo Dean finished at the rim to force an Eagles timeout at 26-19. Out of the break, Dean would finish another layup before Dashon Gittens would convert an and-one lay at the line just moments later to hold the 12-point lead coming out of the under-four media timeout.
 
The Eagles answered with a pair of threes to bring the margin within single digits, as free throws from Williams Jr., Mohamed Sanogo and a Gittens layup sent FIU into the intermission with a 35-27 lead.
 
Eastern Michigan came out the half determined, notching 11 of the first 15 points to come within two at a FIU timeout by the 16:53 mark, 40-38. Both teams exchanged buckets before a crucial 7-0 spurt from the Panthers brought upon a 54-48 cushion by the 11:30 mark.
 
Leading 47-46, Javaunte Hawkins hit a tough step-back jumper in front of FIU's bench before John Williams Jr. converted a big and-one transition layup to push a 52-46 edge. Gittens then corralled a steal for a smooth euro-step layup on the other end to cap the run before a Farrakhan jumper by the under-12 media timeout.
 
Another Farrakhan bucket would flip the tables and go on to spark a 7-0 run of their own for the Eagles, taking its first lead of the game at 57-56 prior to Hawkins eventually reclaiming the edge off a transition layup from a Nick Guadarrama steal and corner 3-point feed from Williams Jr., 61-59 (7:02).  
 
It would be all Eastern Michigan from that point on, seeing the Eagles bust a momentum-shifting 12-2 run that reclaimed the edge for good with 3:41 left at an FIU timeout, 71-63. FIU had opportunities to creep back into the contest in the bonus, though, the Panthers went a combined 3-for-6 from the stripe from that point while failing to come up with crucial stops over the ensuing two minutes to ultimately see the Eagles walk away with the 80-68 result by the end of regulation.
 
The second half held five lead changes – seeing FIU lead for 30:24 of the contest, while Eastern Michigan led for just 7:40.
 
Additionally, the Eagles finished with the edge on the glass for the contest, 34-31, including corralling 12 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds throughout the night.

Postgame Press Conference - Head Coach Jeremy Ballard and John Williams Jr.:


 
UP NEXT
FIU embarks on a three-game road swing, as the Panthers prepare for yet another road test against Sunshine State foe FGCU on Sunday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is slated for a 6 p.m. start to be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
TICKETS
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