MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program takes on Louisiana Tech in Conference USA (CUSA) play on Saturday afternoon at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The Panthers (8-15, 2-8 CUSA) host the Bulldogs (16-7, 5-5 CUSA) at 2 p.m. Saturday fresh off an overtime win over Sam Houston on Thursday evening.
Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. Louisiana Tech
Time/Site: 2 p.m. ET | Ocean Bank Convocation
Series History: La Tech leads 14-8
Last Meeting: La Tech def. FIU, 81-64 (1/9/25)
TV: ESPN+
The Panthers snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 85-82 victory over Sam Houston in overtime. Jayden Brewer scored all 11 of FIU's points in the extra period and finished the game with a career-high 25 points. Jonathan Aybar had 19 points in support, his most in his time as an FIU player.
For his career, Aybar now has 949 points, 51 shy of 1,000 with eight regular season games and at least one CUSA Tournament game remaining. Brewer continues to have a standout junior season as the Panthers' primary scorer, averaging 14.9 ppg, eight-most in CUSA. He has now scored 20+ points in back-to-back games and has scored 15+ points in 7-of-10 CUSA games.
As a team, FIU continues its strong defensive presence with a CUSA-leading 4.83 blocks per game. Individually, Vianney Salatchoum sits second in CUSA with 42 blocks, an average of 2.0 blocks per game.
When the Panthers and Bulldogs faced off earlier this season, Brewer and Aybar both scored 15 points to pace the offense. Travis Gray also produced a solid effort off the bench with 11 points, knocking down two threes.
La Tech raced out to a 50-27 halftime lead in that game and, despite a 37-31 second half in FIU's favor, cruised to a 17-point win.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Louisiana Tech enters this matchup following a 77-53 defeat at Liberty on Thursday evening. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had won three-straight CUSA games after starting their conference campaign, 2-4.
Daniel Batcho and Sean Newman, Jr. make up a dynamic duo for Louisiana Tech offensively. Batcho is fourth in CUSA with 18.3 ppg while Newman is first in the league and second in the nation with 8.9 assists per game. Batcho is also CUSA's leader in blocked shots and sixth in rebounds per game.
In the previous matchup in Ruston, Newman Jr. racked up 13 assists while Batcho scored 15 points. Al Green played a big part in the win for the Bulldogs, making 5-of-7 attempts from deep, all of which came in the first half.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
