EL PASO, Texas – The FIU men's basketball team came up short in Thursday's Conference USA matchup at UTEP, falling 81-61 to the Miners (11-8, 4-4 C-USA) inside Don Haskins Arena. Denver Jones led three Panthers in double figures with 18 points, as FIU drops to 8-11 and 2-6 in the C-USA.
 
Jones shot 5-for-10 from the field, including nailing four 3-pointers (4-of-8), while recording two rebounds and steals apiece.
 
Nick Guadarrama finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two blocks, followed by Dashon Gittens with 11 points, two rebounds and an assist in 24 minutes off the bench. Freshman Arturo Dean added seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks apiece.
 
Turnovers plagued FIU and ultimately led to a double-digit halftime deficit, as UTEP capitalized for 26 points off 16 turnovers for the night.
 
Additionally, the Miners finished with a plus-16 rebound advantage (35-19) to corral 17 second chance points throughout the contest.
 
UTEP led for 37:09 of the contest and finished 57.1 percent from the floor (32-of-56), including 40 points inside the paint, while hitting 35.3 percent of its looks from three on 6-of-17 shooting.
 
Shamar Givance led UTEP with 15 points and 10 assists, followed by Otis Frazier III with 15 points and six rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers travel to face UTSA in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is slated for a 4 p.m. ET start to be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
TICKETS
For more information on FIU tickets to FIU basketball home games, 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.