CORAL GABLES — FIU's men's basketball program held a 12-point second half lead before falling to 12th-ranked Miami, 86-80, on the road on Monday evening.
The Panthers (0-3) led 53-41 with 16:10 to go in the second half before the Hurricanes (3-0) responded with a 12-0 run to regain momentum. Down 64-55, FIU answered with a run of its own to get within two points with 7:25 to go.
Miami made a basket and then back-to-back threes to build a double-digit advantage and cement the result with the Panthers falling by six on the road.
Arturo Dean led the scoring with 19 points and made 3-of-5 attempts from three, adding six assists and five rebounds. Dashon Gittens was also in double-digits with 14 points on 6-of-14 from the field.
Off the bench, Javaunte Hawkins made three three-pointers on his way to 11 points. George Pridgett and Mohamed Sanogo also chipped in off the bench with nine and eight points, respectively.
FIU racked up 24 second-chance points to Miami's two and was very effective on the glass all night. The Panthers out-rebounded the Hurricanes 34-32 in the contest and had 16 offensive rebounds. Jonathan Aybar and Seth Pinkney led FIU with six rebounds each.
FIU continues a busy stretch of its schedule with a matchup at Houston Christian at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The Panthers will then head to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Islands Classic Nov. 19-21.
