MIAMI– Surrendering the lead with 22 seconds left on a loose-ball foul, FIU men's basketball (13-14, 6-10 CUSA) ran down court, and this time saw a game-winning attempt from Corey Stephenson fall with 2.6 seconds remaining, getting a stop and earning a crucial victory over Missouri State (13-14, 7-9) by a score of 70-67 on Saturday.

"That was a dogfight. We feel extremely fortunate to win. One of the things we talked about was having a March mentality and a March sense of urgency, and Missouri State matched us in that way every step of the way," head coach Jeremy Ballard said. "Credit to that group and their staff for having them ready to play on the road. As for us, I told them this before the game because I could see it and feel it, how proud I was of them. Thursday was an absolute heartbreaker, and it would have been very easy to be down, to feel sorry for ourselves, or to feel like the sky was falling... but they woke up the next morning ready to go and ready to learn."

It was truly a scratch-and-claw effort early in the first half for the Panthers, who led by a skinny score of 8-6 with just over ten minutes remaining. Brit Harris plundered a Bears player and found Hamed Olayinka in the paint to end that drought, and Olayinka responded to a Missouri State layup with another to lead 12-8.

The Panthers extended their lead to eight two separate times over the next four minutes, lastly after a Zawdie Jackson roll off a feed from Thiago Sucatzky. FIU kept the opposition at arm's length through the final four minutes, pushing the lead back to eight after a steal and a Julian Mackey emphatic slam on the other end with 1:55 left.

Harris got a good look to try and make it a ten-point lead at half, but just missed. FIU led 29-22 after one, despite missing each of its three-point attempts in the opening stanza.

The Bears used a strong opening five minutes in the second half to draw even at 35 with 15:05 remaining. As was a theme for the rest of the night, the Panthers began to answer every time the Bears knotted it up, and finally, at 12:07, Mackey hit the first three of the game for the Panthers to put them up 40-37.

Holding a lead for the majority of the half and a four-point lead after a pair of Jackson free throws with 6:30 left, Missouri State rallied back and kept it close down the stretch. Stephenson hit a mid-range jumper with 1:43 left to get the advantage back to six, and another mid-range conversion by Mackey with 57 seconds remaining made it a five-point lead, but a three on the other end and a loose-ball foul allowed Keith Palek III of the Bears to tie it on free throws with 22 ticks on the clock.

FIU took a timeout, and out of the huddle, the Panthers wound the clock down. Jackson found Stephenson on a set play, who buried a three-pointer with 2.6 left - cashing in this time after having two chances to win it at Liberty on Thursday night. Getting a stop on the other end, the Panthers held on and won 70-67.

"I feel good. Man, I was feeling every type of way because last game I missed two [game-winners}," Stephenson said. "When Coach drew it up for me in the huddle, I thought, yeah, he's coming back to me, I've got to hit it. And I made it."

Mackey was the team leader in points, recording his fourth 20-point effort of the season with 22 in a bounce-back performance against a physical opponent.

"I think we just embraced the physicality of the game, and that was a big part of what helped us get through it," Mackey said. "We've lost a few games like that, so it was good to see that one go our way."

Stephenson (17), Olayinka (13) and Jackson (11) all had double figures in points, marking six straight for Jackson with 10 or more. The win and Delaware's loss vaulted FIU into the tenth and final spot in the Conference USA tournament with four games left to play.

UP NEXT

FIU starts its final road trek of the season, taking on second-place Sam Houston in a nationally-televised contest on Thursday at 9:00 p.m.

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