FIU Men’s Basketball Falls in Season Opener, Rebounds at Home

FIU head coach Jeremy Ballard talking to his team in a timeout. Photo by FIU Athletics

Adrian Valdivia & Carlos Serradilla / Contributing Writers

FIU Men’s Basketball kicked off their season opener with a loss in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs, but bounced back a few days later at home to defeat the Trinity College Tigers.

Georgia’s 58-51 win against FIU was led by Aaron Cook, who had 10 points and eight assists, along with Braelen Bridges, with nine points and two assists. Even though the Panthers kept the game close throughout the whole game, the Bulldogs took the lead in the final few minutes. 

FIU´s most prominent player was guard Tevin Brewer, with a 36-minute performance in which he scored a total of 14 points, averaging a 35.7% field goals percentage and a 40.0% 3-point percentage.

Guard Isaiah Banks had seven points, seven rebounds, and seven steals with a 75% FG percentage during his 31 minutes played. These two stars showed lots of heart in the Panthers first season game and even though they didn’t come out with a win, it was a very close game against a tough SEC team. 

FIU’s home opener on Friday proved to be more successful for the Panthers. From the beginning of the game, FIU dominated Trinity College on offense. Brewer and guard Daniel Parrish were the stars of the game. Brewer scored 14 points, just like in his first game, but this time had a 71.4 field goal percentage. 

Parrish played his first season game against Trinity and had an 85.7 FG percentage with 15 points. Brewer only played 16 minutes unlike his 36-minute start against the Bulldogs, but the team chemistry of the Panthers made sure Trinity never got on a scoring run.

FIU went into the locker room with a 63-21 first half win and gained an extra 48 points in the second half to win by a score of 111-48. In terms of defensive stats, the Panthers obtained a total of 11 steals and 44 rebounds. 

The Panthers will now have to travel to St. Petersburg for the Jersey Mike’s Classic next week. It’s a three game mini-tournament that will begin against the Ball State Cardinals on Thursday, November 18 at 8pm, and will continue to November 21.

About the Author

Richard Gibson
Former Sports Director of PantherNOW

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