Team Effort Takes Priority In Historic Win For FIU Men’s Basketball

MIAMI, FL – The FIU Panthers looked to bounce back after a tough loss against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and go into the ten-day break on a high note. And that’s exactly what they did.

Jonathan Aybar, who was out for FIU with an injury, the Panthers started graduate student Dante Wilcox in his place.

Another name that was out for the Panthers was big man Mohamed Sanogo, so FIU relied on one of the new transfers, Okechukwu Okeke, who hasn’t seen much action this season for the blue and gold.

FIU had the lead throughout the first half, and although it wasn’t their best brand of basketball, they were able to take a 31-24 lead into the half.

Arturo Dean continued making an impact on both ends of the court as in the first half he led the team with 11 points, two assists, five rebounds, and three steals.

Dean’s second half was one to remember. He ended the night with a career-high 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and six steals. The sophomore guard continued to make an impact for this FIU team that needed a win.

Okechukwu Okeke, who came off the bench for FIU ended up making an impact for this Panthers team when they needed it the most. Finishing the night playing 20 minutes and having 13 points, two rebounds, three steals, one block, and even made a three-pointer.

The 6’9″, 225-pound transfer made a significant impact when the Panthers had to go with a next-man-up mentality.

“Okechukwu wasn’t able to be with us for the entire summer,” said Ballard. “So he missed a lot of the things that we implemented. He’s a new player, and he’s had to play catch up. He’s had moments of frustration because he wants to be better, but man, he’s stuck with it. He’s trusted the coaches and trusted the process. He’s gotten better every day.”

Jayden Brewer, who had mentioned during morning shootaround that the coaches have been putting a lot more trust in him and it is paying off for him as he continues to be one of the first, if not the first player off of the bench for head coach Jeremy Ballard.

“Maturity,” was the first word that left Ballard’s mouth when he was asked about Brewer. “J Brew is as amazing of a person as you will ever find. I said this about Arturo, but to know Jayden Brewer is to love him. To want to be around him. He’s always got the biggest, most beautiful smile on his face. He makes everyone feel good and it doesn’t matter what’s going on with him. He loves his teammates. He’s always cheering for other people and he’s grown up off the court, which is the most important thing.”

Brewer ended the night with 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist, and was 4-9 from the field. He played 23 minutes for the Panthers in their win.

The Panthers’ 74-59 win over the LIU Sharks marks FIU head coach Jeremy Ballard’s 80th win, making him the program’s all-time winningest coach.

The Panthers are set to take a trip to Boca Raton as they take on the ranked FAU Owls who have gotten off to a hot start on the season. That game will be on December 13th at 7pm.