FIU Men’s Basketball Nabs First Home Win Of Season Over KSU

MIAMI, FL – FIU men’s basketball coach Jeremy Ballard values a guy who can say what needs to be said. It’s a big reason why guard Javaunte Hawkins got his first start of the season in a 91-84 victory over the Kennesaw State Owls.

“He’s been a great vocal leader, ever since the summer,” Ballard said. “He’s always ready to say the hard things as a player. It’s really hard to say things that hold your teammates accountable when they’re your peers and you have to go back to the dorm and hang out with them. He’s not afraid to say things that might ruffle some feathers.”

Hawkins didn’t get a lot of chances to start the previous two seasons with FIU, coming off the bench for all 32 games in 2021–22 and starting nine of 32 contests the following year. But he saw the court a lot, nonetheless, averaging 19 minutes per game last season.

On Sunday, the senior matched a career-high 22 points in the victory, shooting 7-for-12 from the field along with four three-pointers.

But more than the point total, Ballard said he was impressed with Hawkins recording just one turnover in 26 minutes.

“That’s what senior point guards do,” Ballard said. “They lead, they take care of the ball, they make solid decisions.” 

It was FIU’s biggest margin of victory all year, with their only other win being an 83-74 win at Houston Christian. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that it was also just the second time all year that the Panthers went into the half with a lead.

Sophomore guard Arturo Dean led FIU in assists (5), rebounds (7), and steals (4). The defending Conference USA Freshman of the Year recorded 13 points and shot 6-for-9 from the field.

Despite this being just their second victory of the season, the 2-6 Panthers know this isn’t the best they will be.

“Our schedule up to this point has been chock full of teams with NCAA (tournament) aspirations,” Ballard said. “But you know, newsflash, we got NCAA (tournament) aspirations too. … when you grow, there’s going to be pains. And the pains will continue to grow.”

“But we can still win a lot of these games while going through some of these pains. And that’s certainly the goal. And as long as we can embrace adversity and truly find out what we’re made of when we go through this adversity, some great things can happen.”

After playing six of their first seven games on the road, FIU will play six of their next seven at Ocean Bank Convocation Center. Their next tilt will be Wednesday against Florida Gulf Coast at 7pm. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.