FORT MYERS, Fla. — FIU's men's basketball program defeated Cal State Bakersfield 76-73 in overtime in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon in a neutral-site contest at FGCU's MTE.
Trailing by three with just 29 seconds to go, Asim Jones dribbled into the lane and made a jumping pass to Dashon Gittens on the wing. Gittens took one dribble to his left and nailed a deep three with just 2.2 seconds to go in regulation, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Panthers (2-4) trailed the Roadrunners (3-3) by four points with 1:47 to go in the extra period. After a corner three from Ashton Williamson, Gittens delivered in the clutch again, this time with a driving, contested lay-up with 20 seconds to go, which put FIU ahead to stay.
After a missed shot from CSUB, Jonathan Aybar iced the game with two free throws to secure the three-point win.
FIU trailed by 12 points at the half, but climbed back into the game quickly, cutting the Roadrunners' lead to one with 11:33 to go, following a three-pointer from Travis Gray. The Panthers were still down eight with 5:18 left, but went on an 16-8 run to close the second half, capped by Gittens' three.
Gittens was a key catalyst in the win with 16 points, adding three rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action. Aybar also had a solid outing offensively with 14 points and three steals. Jones was in double-figures with 12 points in 26 minutes, making two threes. This trio combined for six made threes and a perfect 18-for-18 from the charity stripe.
As a team, FIU shot 23-for-29 from the free throw line and 9-for-23 from deep, both of which are season-high marks for total makes and percentage. After surrendering 38 first half points, the Panther defense gave up just 35 points in the final 25 minutes, including overtime. FIU scored 50 points combined in that same span.
Williamson hit two threes on his way to 10 points and had three assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Okechukwu Okeke and Travis Gray each played an identical 11 minutes and scored five points a piece. In total, nine different Panthers scored in the game.
Back in action after a five-game absence, Olajuwon Ibrahim played the first minutes of his FIU career.
UP NEXT
The Panthers conclude their time at the FGCU MTE with a true-road matchup with the FGCU Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m.
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