By: Malcolm Shields / Staff Writer
The Panthers were engaged in another down to the wire finish against Bowling Green on Dec. 22. The Panthers inability to execute on the offensive end coupled with the Falcons late surge in the second half put the Panthers on the short end of a 61-53 defeat at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Jeremy Allen led the Panthers with 17 points. After sitting out the first month of the season, Brandon Moore made up for lost time in his home debut for the Panthers. With his insertion into the lineup, he finished with 10 points in the game.
“I was basically used to the offense,” Moore said afterwards. “I got a couple of good practices in.”
The Panthers struggled to find addition offense in the backcourt to make up for the production of injured guard DeJuan Wright, who did not play.
“He is a big playmaker,” Head Coach Isiah Thomas said. “Losing him the last couple of games; we are definitely struggling to score points right now.”
The Panthers were efficient executing their half court sets early in the first half. The pace of the half was slow as both teams utilized the entire shot clock in their possessions. Defensively, the Panthers 2-3 zone made it difficult for the Falcons to find good shots.
Late in the half, the Panthers went on a 12-6 run to take a 25-17 lead. Despite shooting 30.4 percent for the half, the Falcons fought back with an 8-4 run at the end of the half to trail 29-25. Jeremy Allen finished the half leading the Panthers with 10 points. The Panthers finished the half shooting 48 percent from the field.
The Falcons came out with plenty of energy to begin the second half. The Panthers immediately went to the full court press to try to slow down the Falcons. Bowling Green went on a 10-6 run to tie the game at 35. Jordon Crawford was the catalyst for the Falcons on both ends of the floor with his dribble-penetration and quick hands on defense. He finished with 15 points and four steals.
Crawford’s ball pressure forced the Panthers into numerous turnovers. Two quick baskets by Bowling Green gave the Falcons its first lead of the second half at 39-38 with 10:05 remaining in the game. The Falcons extended its lead to four on a Scott Thomas three-pointer with 5:42 remaining in the second half.
The Falcons took advantage of FIU turnovers late to pull ahead for good.
With 1:51 remaining in the second half the Panthers needed one last push, but Crawford kept the Falcons (6-5) ahead with a jumper to take 52-47 lead. The Falcons were able to make its foul shots late in the game to seal the win.
“We have to execute better,” Allen said. “We need to cut and move [on offense]. Somehow we need to pick it up.”
The easy baskets that the Panthers (3-9) were able to get in the first half disappeared in the second half as the Panthers struggled to execute in the half court as the Panthers finished with 18 turnovers in the game.
“The turnover bug got us again,” Thomas said. “We can’t seem to make a pass from A to B.”
The Panthers’ next game will be on the road against Middle Tennessee on Dec. 29.
“Playing against Middle [Tennessee] and Western [Kentucky], their guards are good,” Thomas said. “They pressure the ball and we can’t have the turnovers.”
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