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Mens and Womens Basketball Updates

FIU Men Fall to Hot-Shooting North Texas, 77-67
The FIU men's basketball team (13-11, 8-7 SBC) could not overcome 75.0 percent shooting by North Texas (9-17, 4-11 SBC) as the Panthers dropped a 77-67 decision to the Mean Green on Saturday night at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
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FIU, which was led by junior Tymell Murphy's 23 points, forced 21 North Texas turnovers and created 19 more scoring opportunities. However, the Mean Green out-rebounded FIU, 28-14, and converted 10 more free throws then the Panthers.
Murphy shot 10-of-12 from the floor for his seventh 20-point outing of the season. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native grabbed a team-high five rebounds while tallying two assists and three steals.
Also scoring in double-figures was sophomore Deric Hill, who scored a career-high 15 points of 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line. Hill recorded a game-high five steals to give the Miami native 52 on the season.
The game began with both teams exchanging buckets through the first two minutes. A jumper by North Texas' Roger Franklin at the 18:04 mark of the first half gave the Mean Green a lead that they would never relinquish.
Trailing by six, 41-35, after the first 20 minutes, FIU pulled within four points, 48-44, following a Murphy layup with 15:29 left in the game. North Texas, which shot 78.9 percent (15-of-19) in the first half, continue its solid shooting, converting 9-of-13 from the floor (69.2 percent), coupled with an 18-of-23 performance from the free-throw line to extend its lead to as many as 13 points en route to the 77-67 decision.
The Panthers shot 43.1 percent from the field (22-of-51), including 6-of-15 from beyond the arc (40.0 percent) for the contest. FIU made 17-of-20 attempts from the free-throw line, shooting better than 80 percent from the line for the second time this season (.875 at UALR - 1/12).
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Panthers and marked FIU's second-straight road loss.
FIU will next travel to Troy, Ala., to take on the Troy Trojans on Thursday, Feb. 14. Game time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Three Panthers Score in Double-Figures as FIU Women Beat North Texas, 72-63
Behind double-figure scoring efforts from three Panthers and a double-double from junior Marita Davydova, the FIU women's basketball team defeated Sun Belt Conference foe North Texas, 72-63, on Saturday evening at North Texas Coliseum. With the win, the Panthers improve to 15-9 (9-6 SBC) while the Mean Green falls to 9-15 (8-7 SBC).
The first half saw the squads fight to a 15-15 tie before FIU pulled ahead by seven at 22-15 with 8:12 remaining in the stanza. NT cut the deficit to 32-30 on a three-point play with 48 seconds left on the clock, and junior Jerica Coley dished to sophomore Zsofia Labady for a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 33-32 advantage at the break.
In the second half, the Mean Green jumped out to what would be its largest lead of the contest at 45-41 with 15:40 left to play. The Panthers stormed back to lead by as many as 10 points at 68-58 with just under three minutes remaining, and FIU went on for the 72-63 victory.
Davydova notched her eighth double-double of the season with a career-high 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while junior Jerica Coley (26) and senior Diamond Ashmore (12) also scored in double-figures for the Panthers.
Coley, who registered team-leading marks of four assists and four steals on the night, has now scored in double-figures in 22-consecutive games and in 80 of 90 career contests. The 20-plus point outing marks her 15th of the season. During the second half, the All-America candidate eclipsed the 1,900-career point mark, becoming the third Panther in program history to accomplish the feat. Coley has scored 1,906 points for her career to rank third all-time at FIU.
Playing in her 100th-career contest, junior Finda Mansare contributed six points, three rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes of action.
FIU shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field while NT shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) for the contest. The Panthers out-rebounded the Mean Green, 39-27, and forced 17 NT turnovers, turning those setbacks into 23 points.
FIU returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 14, when the Panthers travel to Troy, Ala., for a league contest versus the Troy Trojans. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m. ET from Trojan Arena.
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