FIU Men’s Basketball Drops Second Game of Cayman Islands Classic

After falling to Akron in a close back-and-forth, the Panthers had a chance at redemption and went up against the Marshall Thundering Herd.

For FIU, the game got out of hand at the half and the Panthers were able to trail by single digits but never took the lead and they fell to a final score of 80-69.

After a 26-point night for Petar Krivokapic, he had another quality game, with 12 points, three rebounds, one assist, and three steals. Krivokapic shot 4-13 from the field and was 2-9 from the three-point line.

What was hurting the Panthers all night were the turnovers, but specifically the points off of the turnovers. The Thundering Herd ended the night with 14 points off of turnovers against the Panthers 11.

Where FIU did find success was the rebound department as they led Marshall 27-25 in that department going deep into the second half of action. Arturo Dean led the way for FIU with five rebounds on the night.

Dean, the second Panther to reach the double digits in scoring ended the night with 11 points, a team-leading six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. The big issue with Dean was the six turnovers that he had, which were a big reason why Marshall was able to take such a commanding lead.

Another positive for FIU was backup guard Javaunte Hawkins who has been coming off the bench for the Panthers and has been making an impact. Once again, finding success from the three-point line, going 3-7, but going 3-8 from the field.

The only other Panther who entered the double digits in scoring was Jonathan Aybar who ended the night with 11 points, three rebounds, one assists, and one steal.

A big factor tonight was the struggles of Dashon Gittens, who ended the night with five points, two rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers. Gittens, who had looked like his usual self the past two games, shot 2-7 from the field and 1-5 from the three-point line.