MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program suffered an 88-77 defeat to Florida Atlantic on Wednesday evening in non-conference action at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. 

The Panthers and Owls battled in the first half with Florida Atlantic clutching to a one-point lead at the break. With the score tied in the second half at 47-all with 16:02 remaining, the Owls built a decisive lead with a 13-2 run. 

FIU continued to battle back from its double-digit deficit, cutting the Florida Atlantic lead to three with 5:44 left on a dunk from Jayden Brewer. The Owls responded with a clutch triple, however, and kept the Panthers from getting within one possession again for the remainder of the contest. 

Vianney Salatchoum racked up 20 points for the Panthers to lead the offensive effort on 9-for-11 shooting from the field. Brewer grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and finished with 17 points, going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. 

Dashon Gittens made three three-pointers and scored 14 total in 28 minutes. Jonathan Aybar and Dante Wilcox each chipped in nine points.

FIU was strong defensively defending the three-point line as Florida Atlantic shot just 30.4 percent from distance. The Panthers also out-rebounded the Owls 36-32. In total, the game featured 14 lead changes. 

A major factor for the Owls were their 59 bench points, paced by Tre Carroll's 24 and Kaleb Glenn's 22. 

UP NEXT

The Panthers take on New College of Florida on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. 

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