FIU Men’s Basketball Puts Up Commendable Effort, Falls Short Against #12 Miami

CORAL GABLES, FL – FIU almost had them.

Having not beaten their crosstown rival Miami Hurricanes in their five all-time meetings, the FIU Panthers looked – for about ten minutes – like they were about to accomplish something special at the Watsco Center.

Down 38-25 with 3:13 left in the first half, the Panthers went on an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 41-39 going into the locker room.

“This is what they’re capable of,” Ballard said postgame. “When I go in there and talk to them, I told them there’s no surprise in who we can be when we’re the best version of ourselves and who we can be when we make the other team beat us.”

Which Team Is #12 In The Country?

It’s almost expected to see an underdog put up a fight against a power conference team only to see the underdog fall flat coming out of the half. At least for the first four minutes, that was not the case.

FIU began the first 3:50 of the second half on a 14-0 run that began with a jump shot from guard Arturo Dean in the paint to tie the game, and a three-pointer from Dean about 30 seconds later to give the Panthers their first lead of the night since they led 1-0 in the opening seconds of the game.

Suddenly, the impossible seemed almost probable.

At this point in the game, the Panthers were winning the turnover battle 12-4. Miami star forward Norchad Omier had been held scoreless, and the Watsco Center had all the air sucked out of it.

It’s Hard To Stop A Hurricane

Just as drastic as FIU’s swing was, so too was the run Miami would immediately go on. As soon as the Panthers 14-0 run was over, the Hurricanes went on a 23-2 run over the next 11 minutes, scoring 19 unanswered at one point.

They came as close as four points left to go with 1:49 after that UM run, but Miami wouldn’t let off the gas.

While FIU fell short, Ballard said this was the best they’ve looked in their first three games this year.

“Who we can be when we take care of the ball,” said Ballard. “Who we can be when we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, who we can be when we trust the process, who we can be where we’re connected, who we can be when we don’t care who gets the credit, and all we care about is FIU having the higher final score.”

Ballard added, “Miami beat us tonight. We might have helped them here and there, but by and large, we made Miami have to beat us. Miami had to work to do that.”

Final Notes From Coral Gables

Arturo Dean suffered continuous cramping in his calf during the second half, spending no more than a couple of minutes on the floor at a time during the final 10 minutes of the game. This was the second straight game Dean had dealt with cramps.

Miami shot 58% from the field and 62% from three. This is the same team that made it to the Final Four last year.

For the first time this year, FIU out-rebounded their opponent, collecting 34 boards to Miami’s 32.

FIU also won the turnover battle, 14-10.

What’s next?

FIU now has a 0-3 record with conference play on the horizon. They’ll travel to Texas on Wednesday, November 15th to take on the (Also winless) Houston Christian Huskies at 8pm.