BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Even with an eight-point first-half lead, FIU men's basketball (11-12, 4-8 CUSA) couldn't slow down Western Kentucky (13-11, 6-7) in the second frame, allowing 50 points and falling 80-70.
FIU came out hot, shooting 50 percent in the first half.
Brit Harris' layup put them up 9-5 at 15:55, and after the Hilltoppers stormed back to take the lead, FIU went on a run into the under-eight.
Thiago Sucatzky found
Eric Dibami in the lane with a no-look pass, pushing it to 23-19 FIU at the break.
A pair of
Corey Stephenson threes late in the first kept the Panthers up seven with three minutes left, and it was furthered to eight after the next few possessions when
Ashton Williamson sunk one with 39 seconds remaining. While Sucatzky missed a floater at the buzzer, it was still 38-30 after one.
WKU slowly chipped away at the deficit over the first five minutes of the second half, but
Zawdie Jackson fought for a tough layup to keep the lead at five just under 16 minutes left. The Tops got the lead at 12:47 and never trailed for the remainder of the game, despite FIU making several shots down the stretch.
Down eight with 5:47 left, FIU nailed consecutive threes thanks to Jackson and Harris, but that two-point lead was as close as they got. Harris cut it back to 65-63 by going 2-3 from the line, and WKU responded by converting free throws at the other end along with shots, pulling it out 80-70.
Jackson led the Panthers with 17 points, while Stephenson (14) and Dibami (14) also had strong games. Harris had nine points and a team-high five assists, and Sucatzky dished four assists in the game as well.
UP NEXT
FIU has some down time before its first-ever meeting with Delaware, which will be at home next Thursday.
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