Kevin Castaneda/staff writer
The FIU’s men’s basketball team won their final home game of the season against the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans on Feb. 21, guaranteeing a winning season for the team.
Cameron Bell shined in the team’s final home game of the season with 17 points and 8 rebounds (Roberto Jimenez/FIUSM)
The last time the Panthers accomplished such a feat was during the 1999-2000 season, when they went 16-14 under Head Coach Shakey Rodriguez. Head Coach Richard Pitino and his Panthers squad still have two more games to go, and can potentially go for a 17-win season.
With the 17-point performance from Cameron Bell and a 65-52 win over the Trojans, the team feels it is possible.
“We can get 20 [wins] this year,” Bell said. “We go deep in the tournament. Maybe get 25 and get into the NCAA tournament.”
Bell, a senior, exploded on senior night for the Panthers. The veteran guard not only had a game-high 17 points, but also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. What is even more impressive is that the 6-foot-3 Bell was rebounding over a tall Trojans team, which had four players listed at 6-foot-10.
“He was very efficient. You know 6-for-6 from the free throw line, eight rebounds, 17 points,” Pitino said. “He gives us a great dimension, because he play three different positions and is a tough physical kid.”
The game started out rough, as both teams struggled to find a rhythm. FIU (15-12, 10-8 SBC), which is the fourth best scoring team in the Sun Belt Conference, only had four points through the first six minutes of the game. However, UALR (15-13, 9-8 SBC) let their guard down, allowing the Panthers to go on an 8-0 run.
FIU would maintained that lead for the next nine minutes of play, until a James White jumper gave the Trojans the lead back at 25-24. With less than a minute to go in the first half, Deric Hill hit a long three for the Panthers. Tola Akomolafe followed it up with a monster fast-break dunk giving, This gave FIU a 29-25 lead at the half that they would not relinquish the rest of the game.
“I told the guys, ‘This is your team, not my team,’ you guys gotta [sic] talk more. You know what I’m going to say, I say it every game,” Pitino said. “They are starting to talk at half time and are starting to talk in huddles, and you can see them maturing.”
Someone in that locker room must have said a lot, because the Panthers started the second half on a 6-0 run. FIU’s defense completely stifled the Trojans’ offensive, holding them to only 1-for-15 from the three-point line. This was a UALR team that was ranked fourth in the SBC in three-point field goal percentage going into the game.
“I thought that was the best job, scouting report wise, of knowing the other team’s plays just as well as them,” Pitino said.
The players were not the only ones with family and friends in attendance for senior night. Pitino’s father and mother, Rick and Joanne Pitino, were in the U.S. Century Bank Arena watching their son coach a winning Panthers team.
“I’m proud to show them what we are building here and what we are trying to build,” Richard Pitino said.
Pitino had a lot to show his Hall of Fame father, who’s the head coach of the 10th ranked Louisville Cardinals. The 13-point victory was the Panthers 10th SBC win, which is the most in school history.
“Being a part of the history and putting our names in the record books is a great feeling,” Bell said.
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