HOUSTON, Texas –  Denver Jones led four Panthers in double figures with a career and game-high 30 points on Saturday, as FIU prevailed over Rice (17-14, 8-12 C-USA) inside Tudor Fieldhouse, 90-83, to close the regular season at 14-17 and 8-12 in the Conference USA.
 
Saturday's contest featured 14 lead changes and 12 tied scores, though, FIU came out on top after leading for 15:39 of the contest.
 
Jones connected on 9-of-18, including four 3-pointers and 8-of-9 from the stripe, to notch a career-best 30 points, in addition to grabbing six rebounds in 33 minutes. Junior Seth Pinkney tallied a season-high 15 points  on 6-of-7 shooting with three rebounds, followed by freshman Jayden Brewer with his third double-figure contest in four games with 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
 
Freshman Arturo Dean recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists – committing just one turnover – in addition to three steals and three rebounds. Junior Javaunte Hawkins added seven points and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
Trailing 81-78, the Panthers rallied for a 12-2 run over the final 4:33 to secure the victory – erupting for 54 second-half points on 53.1 percent shooting and 4-of-6 from 3-point range (66.7%). The Panthers finished the contest 49.2 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three on 6-of-16 shooting.
 
Additionally, FIU connected on 16-of-19 from the stripe over the final 20 minutes – finishing the contest 84.6 percent on 22-of-26 from the line.
 
FIU dominated the paint, 46-32, while also tallying 19 points off 13 turnovers for the contest. Additionally, FIU's bench finished with a 28-12 differential.
 
The Owls finished 50.7 percent from the floor, 44.0 percent from three and 85.7 percent from three, led by Quincy Olivari (23) and Travis Evee (22).
 
UP NEXT
FIU begins the Conference USA Tournament next Wednesday, Mar. 8, in Frisco, Texas. Time and opponent will be announced later tonight.
 
TICKETS
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