MIAMI– Using an outstanding all-around effort from senior Hamed Olayinka and five players scoring in double figures, FIU men's basketball (12-13, 5-9 CUSA) earned a stellar 77-64 bounce-back win over Louisiana Tech (14-11, 7-7) on Saturday afternoon.

"We had a really devastating loss on Thursday, and it would have been normal to have a hangover from that game and feel sorry for ourselves, but they never did," head coach Jeremy Ballard said. "Our leadership and character shined through and allowed us to have two really good days in a row adjusting from it. Louisiana Tech has been one of the hottest teams in the conference, and we made a lot of plays, especially on the glass against one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country."

It was an ambush to start the game for the home team, rushing to an 11-0 advantage before the first media timeout. Eric Dibami found net on a pair of lay-ins and Ashton Williamson had five points in that span to get the Panthers going from the jump.

The lead stayed at seven after a Zawdie Jackson mid-range jumper, furthered until the nine minute mark. LA Tech used the next four minutes to get back into the game, rallying to a one-point lead with 4:33 remaining.

Battling in a tie game, Williamson hit his second three-pointer of the opening half to take a 31-28 lead back. Julian Mackey pilfered a Bulldog and charged down court to stretch the lead to four, shrunk back to two at 33-31 after LT hit a buzzer-beating mid-range shot. Olayinka swatted a trio of blocks in the opening half to galvanize the defensive effort.

Jackson hit a three and then scored two more points on the next possession out of halftime, but FIU surrendered the lead after getting up by seven. The team trailed by as much as six and as late as 10:33, but never gave in, tying the game on an Olayinka put-back and then taking the lead after Jackson found Dibami down low.

Olayinka extended his rebounding total to 17 and blocks total to five before game's end, and FIU was off and running. Stephenson caught an alley-oop and converted on his own offensive rebound on two possessions, making it a 12-point lead that the Panthers never relinquished. Jackson and Olayinka combined for the final eight points, winning it 77-64.

Olayinka's stat line of 11 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks & 3 assists is the first such performance in FIU history. Osasumwen Osaghae had 19, 18 and 7 with no assists on 11/26/19, and Eulis Baez had a similar line of 28, 15, 5 and 5 on 11/26/02. It was the senior's fourth double-double of the season, and the team's first five-block game since Seth Pinkney had six on 3/9/24. The 17 rebounds were both a career-high and team-high for this season.

"We came in with the mindset to keep bringing energy today," Olayinka said. "We crashed the glass, and Corey kept saying we needed this game, and that helped us lock in as a team."

Jackson added another 20-point game to his ledger, also finishing with 4 assists and 3 steals to continue his strong stretch of games, the fourth consecutive with 10 or more points.

"I think my [leadership] is one of the biggest assets I bring to the team, and if I can do that every night, it puts us in a good position to win," Jackson said. "I feel like I did enough today to will us to the win."

All five starters had 10 or more points, including Corey Stephenson (16), Dibami (12) and Williamson (11). The team also had a strong day from three, going 10-22, with Jackson, Stephenson and Williamson all hitting three.

This was the Panthers' first win against LA Tech in the last seven games, snapping a six-game slide against the Bulldogs. FIU will travel to Ruston in two weeks for the rematch.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will head to Lynchburg to take on Liberty next Thursday, their first nationally-televised matchup (CBSSN) of the season.

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