Weekend Replay: Men’s basketball sweeps Texas road trip


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Daviyon Draper (right) scored 17 points and picked up 10 rebounds in the Panthers’ win over UTEP on Jan .23.

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

The red-hot FIU men’s basketball team returned home over the weekend with a pair of important victories against conference foes from the state of Texas.

After the Panthers defeated UTSA with a dominant 72-56 win on Thursday night in San Antonio, the team traveled further west to take on the UTEP Miners in El Paso on Saturday.

Three Panthers scored in double digits to lift the team to a 79-69 victory over the Miners in the rematch of last year’s Conference USA tournament quarterfinal game.

Adrian Diaz led the way for FIU against UTEP, scoring a team-high 20 points while Daviyon Draper turned in his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Donte McGill, who scored 23 points two nights earlier against UTSA, gave the Panthers a boost in the second half, scoring 14 of his 16 points on Saturday night in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Panthers (11-9, 5-2 Conference USA) have now won seven of their last nine games and matched their best start in conference play since the 1999-2000 season, when the Panthers began Sun Belt Conference play with a 5-2 record.

Next up for the Panthers is a pair of home games later this week. The team will host Charlotte on Jan. 28 and Old Dominion on Jan. 30. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.

Both games will include a post-game party featuring free food and live music in the plaza in front of FIU Arena. On Saturday against Old Dominion, the FIU baseball team will receive their 2015 C-USA Baseball Championship rings during a halftime ceremony. For both games, there will be a courtside seat upgrade raffle for all Res Life students sponsored by shopFIU.

For more information on FIU men’s basketball, go to FIUSports.com.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The FIU women’s tennis team kicked off their season on a strong note after sweeping the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 4-0 on the road on Jan. 23.

Sophomore Nerma Caluk scored secured the match-clinching point in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) to seal the Panthers’ victory.

The Panthers tallied the first point of the afternoon with back-to-back doubles wins, first from the duo of freshman Maryna Veksler and junior Nina Nagode followed by the tandem of senior Carlotta Orlando and redshirt freshman Andrea Lazaro.

Then in singles action, Nagoda, Lazaro and Caluk each rolled to victories in straight sets to give FIU the win.

The Panthers (1-0) will host the Troy Trojans on Jan. 29 at the FIU Tennis Courts at 2:30 p.m.

For more information on FIU women’s tennis, go to FIUSports.com.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

The FIU swimming and diving team fell to the No.29-ranked Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, 141-64, on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Kyna Pereira claimed two first-place finishes on the afternoon, winning the 1,000 free and the 500 free.

This upcoming Saturday, Jan. 30 will be Senior Day for the Panthers as they host Miami in the team’s final home meet of the season. Start time is set for 12 p.m. at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. There will be free food and giveaways for students and fans in attendance.

For more information on FIU swimming and diving, go to FIUSports.com.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

After falling behind early on during their contest with UTEP at home Saturday night, the FIU women’s basketball team settled down and actually outscored the Miners over the final three quarters of play.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, it wasn’t enough as the Miners held on for a 69-57 win over FIU.

After trailing 24-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers went on 13-2 run to start the second quarter to cut the deficit down to eight. That would be as close as the Panthers would get, however, as the Miners regained their bearings and staved off the comeback effort.

Tianah Alvarado led the Panthers with 15 points, scoring 14 of them during the third quarter, while Destini Feagin added 14 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.

The Panthers (2-15, 0-7 Conference USA) will hit the road later this week to face the Charlotte 49ers on Jan. 28.

For more information on FIU women’s basketball, go to FIUSports.com.