Miami Courant

Florida International University recently issued the following announcement.

Panthers and Ospreys tip off at noon from Ocean Bank

FIU MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

vs. North Florida

Sunday, Nov. 28 – 12 p.m. ET – Ocean Bank Convocation Center

 

SETTING THE STAGE:  The Panthers (5-1) will continue their current homestand with a 12 p.m. ET tip on Sunday, Nov. 28 against North Florida (1-6) at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

 

FIU will be looking to win its sixth consecutive game when it hosts the Ospreys on Sunday afternoon.  The Panthers are a perfect 2-0 on their home floor this season and have won those initial two games by an average of 36.0 points.

 

TV TALENT:  The FIU-North Florida contest will air live on Conference USA TV.  The game will be called by the play-by-play voice of the Panthers AJ Ricketts.

 

SERIES HISTORY:  The Panthers have faced North Florida seven times previously, with the most recent meeting coming during the 2019-20 season.  FIU is 5-2 in those previous contests and are 5-0 at home vs. the Ospreys.

NORTH FLORIDA (5-2^)

12/9/92 W 85-63 H

11/29/03 W 81-72^ H

2/14/06 W 71-54^ H

12/14/15 L 72-94 A

12/21/16 W 78-54 H

12/13/17 L 85-87 A

12/13/19 W 102-89 H

^ - 2 wins vacated due to NCAA sanctions

WHAT'S BACK:  FIU returns a total of five players from last season's squad, including senior Eric Lovett, who averaged 10.5 points while connecting on a team-best 51 three-point field goals.

The Panthers also feature 10 new faces on the 2021-22 roster entering opening night at Georgia, including five true freshmen.

LAST TIME OUT:  The FIU men's basketball team used an explosive second half that saw it outscore North Dakota by 15 en route to its fifth straight victory by a 65-56 margin on Nov. 24 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

FIU started its second-half push with a 12-0 run that flipped a deficit of 51-45 to a 57-51 FIU lead, that the Panthers would not relinquish.

The run was sparked by Tevin Brewer, who scored nine of his 12 points in the spurt and 10 in the second half.

Defensively, the Panthers were stout down the stretch – holding North Dakota scoreless for the final 3:16 of regulation.

TEVIN BREWER HONORED AS CONFERENCE USA POW:  FIU junior Tevin Brewer has been selected as the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Week, for the period ending Nov. 21.

Brewer averaged 18.3 points over three games last week while leading the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 record at the Jersey Mike's Classic.  FIU posted three victories over a four-day span against Ball State, Green Bay and UNC Greensboro.

In the win over UNC Greensboro, Brewer scored five of the Panthers' nine points in the overtime period, including a clutch three-pointer that snapped a 70-70 tie and put FIU up for good with 3:28 left.

For the three games, Brewer also registered an average of 4.7 assists and shot a solid .563 (18-of-32) from the field and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Brewer posted double-figure point totals in all three wins last week – including a career-best 25-point scoring effort in the win over Ball State on Nov. 18.

BIG WIN IN HOME OPENER: The 63-point margin of victory vs. Trinity College on Nov. 12 marked the largest for FIU since a 70-point win (117-47) over Johnson & Wales on Nov. 9, 2018.

The 111 points scored were the most for the Panthers since notching 111 vs. Carver College last season.

The Panthers have posted wins in each of their last nine home openers – dating back to a 69-60 loss vs. Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 17, 2011.

CLOSE CALL AT GEORGIA:  FIU led as late as the 10:04 mark of the second half before an 8-0 run by Georgia down the stretch handed them a 58-51 setback in the season opener for both teams on Nov. 9 in Athens.

The Panthers led by as many as seven points in a game that featured eight lead changes and three ties.

Junior Tevin Brewer paced FIU with a team-best 14 points.  Freshman Denver Jones also logged 13.

FIU was hot from the three-point stripe in the early going - connecting on 7-of-16 from deep in the opening 20 minutes before finishing the contest 9-of-27 overall.

Defensively, the Panthers limited the Bulldogs to just a 35.1 clip from the field and forced a total of 15 turnovers – 11 in the first half.

The Panthers got off to a hot start as they raced out to an 11-4 advantage in the early moments of the initial half as Brewer, Isaiah Banks and Eric Lovett all connected on a three-pointer in the opening five minutes of regulation.

FIU trailed for only a span of 2:16 in the first half before responding with a 12-4 spurt to close the period which was highlighted by a three-pointer that just beat the final buzzer of the first half by Denver Jones - sending the Panthers into the locker room with a 27-22 edge.

HOT SHOOTING EARLY:  The Panthers have enjoyed some solid shooting from the field as well as from beyond-the-arc over their initial six games of 2021-22.

FIU has posted a solid .347 (59-of-180) clip from three-point range over the squad's opening six contests.  The Panthers drilled nine treys at Georgia in the season opener on Nov. 9 before dropping 15 against Trinity College on Nov. 12.  They followed with 12 vs. Ball State (Nov. 18) and 13 vs. UNC Greensboro (Nov. 20).

Junior Tevin Brewer has paced the long-shooting success by making 50.0 percent of his attempts (15-of-30).  He also is leading the Panthers with 32 assists.

Overall, the Panthers are shooting .439 (150-1342) from the field over the first six games of 2021-22.

SHARING THE BALL:  Over the first six games of 2021-22, more than half of the Panthers' field goals have come with an assist this season – entering Sunday's clash with North Florida.

Of FIU's 150 field goals this season, 95 have some with a helper – a rate of 63.3 percent.

UP NEXT:  The Panthers continue their current four-game homestand with a showdown against Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday, Dec. 1 in a 7 p.m. tip from Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

FIU and Florida Gulf Coast will be meeting for the 13th time in program history when they square off next week.

Original source can be found here.