Alumni reunion

FIU alumni Raja Bell and Carlos Arroyo met Dec. 8, 2010, when the Miami Heat played the Utah Jazz in a rematch of their Nov. 9 contest. The results were different this time: The Heat prevailed 111-98 in the Dec. 8 match-up in Salt Lake City. Utah’s Bell scored 11 points, while the Heat’s Arroyo was shut out.

The first time the teams met this season, Nov. 9 in Miami, the Jazz beat the Heat 116-114 in overtime. In that game, Bell was 1 of 6 for 3 points, with two rebounds and two assists. Arroyo went 2 for 4 for 10 points. He also had two assists.

Carlos Arroyo

Arroyo played for the Panthers from 1998-2001 and still holds a number of individual school marks (the team retired his jersey). He also is arguably the most successful Puerto Rican player in NBA history.

He is FIU’s career-record holder in assists (459) and is the only FIU player to have 600 points in a single season. Currently, he is the second all-time leading scorer in FIU basketball history with 1,600 career points, behind only Dwight Stewart. He was a two-time member of the All-Sun Belt Conference team.

Raja Bell

Bell played two seasons with the Golden Panthers (1997-99) after transferring from Boston University. He was a two-time all-conference selection, with the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun) as a junior and the Sun Belt as a senior. Bell scored 965 points over his two-year FIU career, which included 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a senior, and his 16.6 ppg career average is third best in FIU history.