Panthers come home after early season tournament

The Panthers ended the Kennesaw State Tournament with a win over Division II Warren Wilson Tuesday, 93-56.

Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles continued his dominance on the court, scoring a career-high 26 points, leading four other Panthers in double-figures.

Buckles shot 9-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Senior Tymell Murphy finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points with 11 rebounds and shooting 7-of-10 from the field.

Jerome Frink, Dennis Mavin and Marco Porcher Jimenez also scored in double-figures, 16, 13 and 11, respectively.

The Panthers went into halftime with a 40-31 lead and a 22-0 run in a six-minute time period helped solidify the win and outsocre the Owls 53-25 in the second half.

The Panthers showed off the offensive prowess by shooting 57.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point land. FIU also hit from the charity line, converting on 16-of-21 free throws, with season tops in assists (16), steals (10) and blocks (6).

Defensively, the Panthers kept the Owls at bay. Holding them to 39.3 percent from the field (22-of- 56) and 15.4 percent from behind the arc (2-of-13).

Tuesday’s win was the first time the Panthers surpassed 90 points in a game since they reached 92 points at Utah Valley in 2010.

The win also became the second straight win for FIU. Prior, the Panthers notched their first win of the season against Kennesaw State, 66-58, Sunday afternoon.

Buckles scored 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting and a game high 11 rebounds, his third straight double-double of the season.

Guard Raymond Taylor reached a season-high 15 points and five assists.

Frink and Murphy also attributed in the win, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Panthers shot 35.8 percent, 10-of-26, from the field and 33.3 percent, (2-of-6) from behind the arc. Defensively, Kennesaw State was held to 36.1 percent, (22-of-61) from the field.

The Panthers, 2-2, will now return home and play their first home game Thursday against Florida College.