MOBILE, Ala. ? Four players in double figures sparked the Jags to a 69-52 win over Florida International on Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. With the win, the Jags improve to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Florida International falls to 6-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
Jags started out the game with the old-fashion 3-point play as junior Ernest Little drove to the hoop on the first possession and was fouled. FIU came roaring back, scoring the next seven points to take a 7-3 lead with 15:37 left in the half.
Sophomore Brandon Davis ended the 6:15 drought with a nice turnaround jumper in the lane with 13:45 left. FIU was stuck on seven points since the 15:56 mark and ended its drought with a bucket by Elvis Lora with just under 12 minutes in the half.
A 3-pointer by senior Stephen Cowherd tied the game at 16 with over seven minutes left in the half. It was the first trey by the Jags as they had missed their first five to that point. Davis was fouled moments later and made one of two free throws giving USA its first lead of the game at 17-16. A driving layup by junior Daon Merritt gave the Jags a 19-16 lead with six minutes left in the half.
Another 3-pointer by Cowherd, along with two free throws by junior Demetric Bennett and a layup by Davis helped the Jags built a 28-18 lead with 2:45 left. Bennett hit a 3-pointer with under a minute left in the half to push the lead to 31-20 at intermission. From the 6:57 mark, the Jags closed the half with a 14-4 run.
For the half, the Jaguars shot 54 percent from the field on 12 of 22. USA was 3 of 10 from deep and 4 of 5 from the charity stripe. FIU shot 28 percent for the half on 7 of 25 from the field and 2 of 11 from beyond the arc. The Golden Panthers were 4 of 6 from the line, but held a 17-11 advantage on the boards.
Bennett and Davis led the Jags with seven points each, while Johwen Villegas had eight points to lead FIU.
The Jags opened the half with fire as they jumped to a 40-22 lead with 15:14 to play. Bennett and senior Carlos Smith each hit 3-pointers during the 9-2 run to start the half. FIU scored just three field goals since the 4:53 mark in the first half.
The Golden Panthers used a 9-3 spurt to cut the deficit to 53-39 with 7:56 left. FIU had two 3-pointers both by Villegas during the run. USA had just one field goal since the 11:39 mark.
With 3-pointers by Smith and Merritt, the Jags pushed the lead back to 18 with just over three minutes to play.
A 3-pointer by Alex Galindo cut the deficit back to 13 with 1:58 to play. Galindo, the Panthers’ leading scorer, hit just his third field goal of the night and second in consecutive possessions.
USA built the lead back to a final 69-52 margin.
For game, the Jags had four players in double figures led by Bennett with 17, 12 by Merritt and 11 by Cowherd and 10 by Smith. USA tied its season-high field goal percentage at 55.1 as it was 27 of 49 from the field. USA was 8 of 20 from beyond the arc and 7 of 10 from the free throw line.
The Golden Panthers were 21 of 59 from the field for 35 percent and were 5 of 21 from beyond the arc. Villegas led the team with 16 points and Lora had 11 off the bench.
USA concludes the homestand on Saturday against Florida Atlantic in the second doubleheader of the season. The women begin at 5 p.m. followed by the men approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women’s game.
