MURFREESBORO, Tenn.– Using another late takeover from senior Corey Stephenson, FIU men's basketball (11-11, 4-7 CUSA) earned its first overtime win of the season, toppling Middle Tennessee (11-11, 5-6 CUSA) in Murfreesboro for the first time since 2021 by a score of 88-84, making Jeremy Ballard the winningest coach in school history.

"Other than being the father of my son, this is the honor of a lifetime," Ballard said. "I tell our guys all the time how grateful I am for the opportunity to live my passion and to have real purpose. FIU is a special place. We have an unbelievable administration and incredible coaches throughout the athletic department, and we get to do this in Miami. I am truly living a dream. To be the head coach here for eight years and to have the opportunity to coach this many games, I could not be more thankful. To borrow a line from Lou Gehrig, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Thank you to Panther Nation, to our administration, my assistant coaches, our players, and my family who has supported me throughout this journey. Thank you. And we are not done. We have a lot more ahead of us. We have nine more opportunities to go 1-0 this regular season, and we are going to give everything we have to do it."

It was a 9-0 spread to start the game for the Panthers, with seven of the first nine points coming from Stephenson. Similarly to their early run at Jax State, the offense briefly dried up, but still holding a 9-7 lead with 14 minutes left.

The lead changed hands and possessions over the next six minutes, but it was FIU who earned a lead at the under-eight. Eric Dibami converted a layup and Brit Harris added a steal and score to go up 23-19 by that point of the game, not surrendering that lead until the under-four.

Trailing by as much as seven with 2:33 left, FIU went on an 8-0 run thanks to Stephenson and two timely blocks by Ibrahim Olajuwon, who hit a hook shot as time expired in the first. The Panthers led 39-38 after the first stanza.

Dibami scored a couple quick buckets out of the locker room, but the Blue Raiders hung around. Neither team pulled away by more than three over the first 14 minutes of the frame until FIU got up by five after a Stephenson and-one, subsequently moving it to seven after Harris scored off his defensive rebound.

MTSU did not go away, battling to tie the game at 72 with 2:11 left. After Stephenson went 1-2 from the line, the Panthers turned the ball over and MTSU went up two after free throws on the other end. Stephenson missed a three, FIU got the ball back on a miss and Stephenson again missed a jumper that would have tied it. The Blue Raiders missed another free throw, and on the ensuing break, Harris was fouled on a three-point attempt. He went 2-3 from the line, sealing overtime tied at 75.

Stephenson took over in overtime, scoring the first nine points for FIU and getting some clutch stops. Leading 81-80, Stephenson hit a three to bring his scoring total to 34. Zawdie Jackson and Harris iced the game from the line, winning it 88-84.

Stephenson's effort of 34 was a career-high, the sixth-most points in school history, and first 34-point game since Elmo Stephen had 34 on 2/11/17. It was also the most points by an FIU player on the road since Carlos Arroyo set the scoring record of 39 at North Texas on 12/30/00. He added nine rebounds in the win, which Stephen also did in that game.

"I keep playing hard, and do what coach tells me to do," Stephenson said. "We believe we can beat anybody. It don't matter if it's home, road, or neutral site. We feel like we can beat anyone. We came together, said let's go get it, and we did."

Jackson was second on the team in scoring with 13, going a crucial 9-10 from the line including three late in overtime. Dibami recorded his fifth double-double as well, passing Jerome Frink for fourth-most by a freshman in school history.

The Panthers have now won back-to-back road games for the first time since 2019 and earned their first win in Murfreesboro since 2021, snapping a five-game skid against Middle Tennessee.

UP NEXT

FIU heads to Western Kentucky for a Saturday matchup, the 55th historical matchup for these two teams.

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