Box Score

MIAMI – Florida International shot 61.3 percent from the floor and scored 49 points in the first half en route to an 87-58 win over the University of South Alabama men's basketball team Saturday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

FIU (4-4) also hit 66.7 percent from 3-point land in the first 20 minutes, and used runs of 10-0 and 11-2 to take a 38-22 lead at the 7:22 mark.

The Panthers led by no fewer than 17 in the second half and closed out the contest on a 13-3 spurt.

Sophomore Josh Ajayi had a team-high 16 points for South Alabama (5-4).

GAME FACTS
- With the game tied at 11-11, FIU scored the next 10 points on 3-pointers from Brian Beard Jr. and Eric Lockett, and two layups from Trejon Jacob
- Three consecutive treys from senior Dederick Lee cut the Panther lead down to seven each time, but eight unanswered points gave FIU a 35-20 advantage
- The Panthers went into intermission up 49-32, and shot 19 for 32 (59.4%) from the floor, and 8 for 13 (61.5%) from 3-point land; the Jaguars went 11 for 26 (42.3%) overall and 7 for 14 (50.0%) from distance
- The two teams traded five unanswered points to start the second half, then the Panthers reeled off 13 of the next 16 over a 2:41 stretch to take a commanding 67-40 lead with 10:56 left in the game
- South Alabama hit just one field goal in the final 6:49 as FIU went on a 13-1 run to go up 31 in the final moments
- USA junior Rodrick Sikes finished with 11 points on two 3-pointers
- The Panthers had five reach double-digit points: Jacob (26), Lockett (16), Beard (14), Willy Nunez Jr. (14) and Hassan Hussein (12)

NOTES
- The loss ends a three-game win streak over the Panthers, and is the first defeat when scoring 69 or fewer since the season opener, a span of four games
- FIU had just two turnovers, and dished out 18 assists
- The Jaguars had 15 assists on 20 field goals
- Sikes extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight games
- Freshman Joe Thompson led the Jaguars with seven rebounds; he is averaging 8.0 rebounds in his last two outings
- Freshman John Pettway set new career-highs with five points and three assists, and had no turnovers in 10 minutes of work
- South Alabama entered the contest the No. 15 team in Division I in 3-point percentage defense, but gave up new season-highs with 10 treys and a 40.0 percentage
- The 49 points and 61.3 shooting percentage are the best by a USA opponent in the first half this season
- Lee tied his career high with nine points, all in the first half

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matthew Graves
Opening statement: "I'm extremely disappointed. It was a complete team meltdown – we had a total lack of focus and toughness. Defensively, we allowed them to pass, screen and move the ball very freely and shoot open shots, as evidenced by their shooting percentage and forcing one turnover for the entire game. I have to do a better job of pushing the right buttons, and it started with practice on Thursday. We thought we had arrived after winning two in a row. When you have a young team like this, you have to show consistency in your daily effort. We learned a really hard lesson and all of us should be really embarrassed."

On the first half: "You have to give them credit – they made shots, but at the end of the day, we have to control our intensity on the defensive end. That's where we hang our hat because we're not the most dynamic team offensively. We've got to really grind and do a better job defensively – forced some turnovers and get some easy baskets. We did not of that tonight. It's extremely disappointing."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars take a break before going to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Dec. 10 for a 2 p.m. start.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—