HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — FIU's ninth-seeded men's basketball program secured a 76-67 victory over eighth-seeded Jacksonville State on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Conference USA (CUSA) Championships. 

With the victory, the Panthers will take on top-seeded Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. ET inside Propst Arena with a berth to the Semifinals on the line. 

Arturo Dean led FIU with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, the third of which made him the single-season record holder, surpassing Brian Beard Jr's total of 100 from 2018-19. Javaunte Hawkins made several clutch shots down the stretch and finished with 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from distance. 

The Panthers outscored the Gamecocks 43-30 in the second half, erasing a nine-point deficit early in the frame. Jaden Grant gave FIU its first lead in the second half with 12:23 to go on a layup at the rim. Both sides traded baskets in the middle part of the second half before the Panthers made their critical run.

Tied at 65-all with 4:54 left, Dean finished a tough layup and then grabbed a rebound on a missed shot. He raced down the court and found a wide open Hawkins with 3:59 to go, who knocked down a clutch three to put the Panthers up 70-65. 

Jax State cut it to three with 2:08 left, but another dagger Hawkins three put the Panthers up 73-67 with 1:07 to go. Dean then put the bow on the victory with a full court sprint, finishing a layup plus the foul with just 28 seconds left. 

Petar Krivokapic added 11 points in 25 minutes, knocking down 2-of-3 attempts from deep. Jayden Brewer delivered a well-rounded effort with nine points, three steals and four assists. 

As a team, the Panthers shot 50 percent from three (11-for-22) and seven different FIU players made at least one three. Defensively, FIU limited CUSA's top scorer KyKy Tandy to just four points and seven turnovers. 

The Panthers forced 15 total turnovers and had 10 steals. FIU also limited to Jax State to just 33.3 percent shooting from deep and also just four threes.