KENNESAW, Ga. — FIU's men's basketball program dropped a thrilling contest, 73-67, at Kennesaw State on Saturday in Conference USA (CUSA) action.
The Panthers (7-15, 1-8 CUSA) were led by Jayden Brewer's 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half. FIU trailed KSU (13-9, 5-4 CUSA) most of the way, but the Panthers cut their deficit to three several times in the second half, including with 51 seconds left after a made Brewer free throw.
The Owls, however, made a critical basket with 22 seconds left to hold off the Panthers, sealing the six-point win. Brewer also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the game. Asim Jones, Ashton Williamson and Vianney Salatchoum each scored 10 points in support. Williamson finished with 10 points, five assists and three steals in 27 minutes.
As a team, FIU out-rebounded KSU 33-31, 11 of which were on the offensive glass. The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field, but went just 13-for-27 from the free throw line. The Owls made the most of their charity stripe opportunities, going 19-for-23, 82.6 percent.
Both sides traded baskets to open the game with the score tied at 21-all with 7:49 to go in the opening frame. Kennesaw closed the final minutes of the half with a 14-8 run to take a 35-29 lead into the locker room.
To open the second half, the Owls stretched their lead to 10 points with 15:33 to go in the game. A 12-5 run for FIU brought the score to 52-49 with 10:40 left.
A resilient Kennesaw State team went back up nine with 5:33 to go, up 64-55. The Panthers responded with a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to three with under a minute left, but could not get any closer.
UP NEXT
FIU heads back to Miami to open up a two-game home stand, opening with Sam Houston on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
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