MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball team fell 82-59 to Liberty in Conference USA (CUSA) action on Saturday evening. 

The Panthers (7-13, 1-6 CUSA) trailed 43-27 at the half against a hot-shooting Flames (16-4, 4-3 CUSA) team and fell by a 23-point margin. Jayden Brewer led FIU with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. 

Dashon Gittens had 12 points, five steals and four rebounds in 26 minutes. Jonathan Aybar racked up 11 points and eight rebounds. 

As a team, FIU shot it well from the free throw line, going 16-for-21. The Panthers, however, shot just 38.9 percent from the field and went 1-for-8 from three. FIU won the rebounding battle, 35-22. 

Liberty's hot shooting started from the opening tip as the Flames made 11-of-24 attempts from deep. FIU trailed 21-11 early as Liberty made three three-pointers in the first nine minutes. 

Gittens helped FIU get back within four after a steal and runout dunk with 8:34 left in the half, down 21-17. Liberty responded with a run to close the half, taking a 16-point lead to the locker room.

The Panthers tried to chip away at the their deficit in the second half, but timely shooting from Liberty allowed them to maintain and extend their advantage. 

UP NEXT

FIU will hit the road to take on Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Ala. on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

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