MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program responded with a 68-61 victory over Sam Houston at home on Saturday afternoon in Conference USA (CUSA) play. 

The Panthers (8-15, 3-5 CUSA) trailed by 10 points at halftime, but outscored Sam Houston (13-10, 6-2 CUSA) 42-25 in the second half to earn the victory. To add a special touch to the win, a three-pointer in the final minutes from Javaunte Hawkins made him FIU's all-time career record holder for made three-pointers (185), surpassing Trajon Jacab's previous mark of 184 made threes. 

Down by 11 with 16:08 to go, the Panthers had ripped off a 9-0 run capped by a layup from George Pridgett, Jr. to pull within two. FIU continued to chip away and tied the game for the first time with 8:33 remaining on a three-pointer from Petar Krivokapic. 

Krivokapic caught fire from there, making two more clutch triples down the stretch to help the Panthers pull away. FIU put the bow on the victory with a sequence that included a breakaway dunk from Jaidon Lipscomb and a dagger three from Hawkins. 

Krivokapic finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep. Hawkins also had a career-high nine assists to add to his historic evening. 

Lipscomb made two threes and had 11 points, adding two steals, two assists in 27 minutes. Seth Pinkney and Jayden Brewer added eight points each in support. 

As a team, the Panthers forced 16 turnovers and added nine steals. FIU was formidable in the paint defensively with eight blocks as Pinkney and Dante Wilcox had three each.

The Panthers shot 48.1 percent from the field in the second half and made 7-of-13 attempts from distance. 

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FIU will take on Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center for its Alumni Day game.