MIAMI, Fla. – DeAndre Abram had a double-double,
Darius Roy scored 19 and
Wil Sessoms poured in 17 points in 16 minutes but a late push came up just short against FIU, 86-83, Tuesday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The Panthers (0-3) overcame a late five-point deficit to force a tie on a lay-in by
Vance Johnson with 31 seconds left, but could not find a way to force overtime in the end, missing a three-pointer right before the final horn.
"In this environment, we learned a lot about our team," head coach
Pat Baldwin said. "Certainly, we have improved from the last two games where we really struggled in certain halves of games."
FIU (3-0) had just enough scoring runs in it, remaining unbeaten on the season in a game that featured six ties and 16 lead changes.
"I thought we were a little more complete in this game tonight, but unfortunately, we just didn't get the win that I think our guys deserved," Baldwin said. "They fought, they played hard."
Abram's double-double was his second in a row, finishing the night with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Roy led MKE in scoring once again, pouring in 19 points while adding six rebounds and five assists.
Carson Warren-Newsome was a spark off the bench with 10 points, while recording career-bests with seven rebounds and five assists.
"Our guys fought and they really stayed together," Baldwin said. "No matter what, through any type of adversity – that they stayed together and not break away from what we were trying to do. Our guys gave us everything that they had."
Sessoms put together an impressive outing, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the floor to get to his 17 points, adding nine rebounds and a block in just 16 minutes of action.
A game of scoring runs featured one right out of intermission – FIU went 7-0 to turn a 50-44 lead at half for Milwaukee into a 51-50 deficit. The home team furthered the spree to 15-4, making 6-of-7 field goals to lead, 59-54, at the 16:04 mark.
Roy led the next Milwaukee charge, with his layup capping a 7-2 spurt to make it a new game at 61-61. His layup a few possessions later extended the MKE edge to 65-61.
Just as quick, the momentum swung again, with FIU going back ahead on a dunk at 68-67, part of nine in a row by the home Panthers to lead 72-67, with 7:28 to play.
The MKE Panthers showed plenty of heart in not quitting.
Jake Wright's three from the wing pulled them within two at 74-72 and Sessoms took over for a spell. His free throws made it 74-74 and then he out-rebounded three FIU players for the offensive putback to give Milwaukee the 76-74 advantage with 5:43 left on the clock.
Back and forth from there for a bit, it was FIU once again, using a 9-2 run to forge ahead 83-78 at the 2-minute mark. One more push tied it. Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws, Warren-Newsome hit a jumper and then Johnson knotted it at 83-83 to set the stage for the final moments.
The first half also saw FIU score 21 of 27 points to turn an early Milwaukee lead into a 22-11 deficit. Those scoring runs continued, with an early one fueled by Sessoms. Milwaukee went 10-3 to lead, 35-33, then hit 3's on each of its final three possessions of the first half (Roy/Roy/Wright) to turn a 41-41 deadlock into a 50-44 lead at the horn.
Milwaukee shot 45.7 percent (32-of-70) on the night, hitting 33 percent (6-of-18) on three-pointers, while holding FIU to under 40 percent (39.7/29-of-73). The visitors also won the rebounding battle, 50-42, and points in the paint at 42-36.
Up next, the Panthers face another tough challenge later this week, heading to play Cincinnati Friday. The Bearcats went 31-5 last season, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. CST.
