Panthers hold on in C-USA opener

Jorge Corrales/Sports Director

The Panthers opened up Conference USA play with an impressive 62-60 win at Florida Atlantic University. The Owls were 5-0 at home before falling to the Panthers in their conference opener.

The Panthers were once again led by senior forward Adrian Diaz, who notched 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting. He also added 11 rebounds. Diaz is shooting a team-high 64% from the field on the year.

Senior guard Dennis Mavin added 16 points and six assists while shooting 7-of-15 from the field. Mavin played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida Atlantic before transferring to FIU. He heard chants of “traitor” from the hometown crowd while at the free-throw line.

Solomon Poole led the Owls with 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting.

The Panthers led for most of the afternoon before the Owls took a 57-55 lead on a Poole three-pointer with 2:31 left. Diaz answered by knocking down four-straight free throws to put the Panthers ahead for good.

The victory moves the Panthers to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play. They will play the sixth game of an eight game road trip when they take on Middle Tennessee State University on January 8. Tip off is set for 7 pm.