Miami Courant

Florida International University recently issued the following announcement.

Panthers hand North Florida an 84-69 setback on Sunday afternoon

The FIU men's basketball team outscored North Florida by 17 in the second half in extending its current winning streak to six consecutive games with an 84-69 victory on Sunday afternoon at Ocean Bank Arena.

The Panthers shot an eye-popping 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field in the second half, including hitting on 7-of-11 attempts from three-point range (63.6%) in the final 20 minutes.

FIU (6-1) outscored the Ospreys 48-31 in the second half, with the key run coming during an 18-5 burst that saw the Panthers run out to a 65-52 lead after being deadlocked at 47-47 with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.

The offense was sparked by a pair of freshmen as both Petar Krivokapic and Denver Jones both posting season-high scoring efforts.

Krivokapic paced FIU with a team-best 18 points, while connecting on 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc.  Jones added 17 while making 5-of-7 attempts from the field and hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and 3-of-3 from deep.

 

The bench once again proved strong for the Panthers as they outscored North Florida's reserves 46-19.  FIU's offense also once again showed its ball distribution prowess as it posted assists on 19-of-28 field goal attempts, led by reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Tevin Brewer who handed out eight helpers.

 

The Panthers overcame a sluggish start that saw them trail for a total of 13:47 in the initial 20 minutes, before taking control after the break – which saw FIU enter the locker room trailing by a deuce at 38-36.

 

North Florida (1-7), which entered the contest having played the second-toughest schedule nationally having featured previous games at Kentucky, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UCLA and Arizona State, was led in defeat by Jose Placer, who registered a game-high 25 points.

UP NEXT

The Panthers continue the current four-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 1 vs. Florida Gulf Coast.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

The game will be televised live on ESPN+.

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