Monday, March 3, 2003

Arkansas State runs over Men's Basketball, 85-65

rkansas State ends FIU's regular season with a 85-65 loss in Jonesboro, AR. Carlos Morban led the Golden Panthers with a career-high 25 points, going 11-for-13 from the free-throw line.

FIU (7-20, 1-13 Sun Belt Conference) couldn't keep up with the Indians, as ASU started with a 14-1 lead, before the Golden Panthers could make a field goal.

Arkansas State (13-14, 6-8 SBC) continued to a 14-1 score in the first six minutes of the game. The Indians would increase the advantage to 25-9 over the next six minutes, as Belco Bamba and Eulis Baez each picked up two fouls a piece.

ASU would keep that double-digit lead the rest of the first half, taking its largest advantage, 40-23, into halftime. The Indians shot 50-percent (14-for-28) from the floor in the first half and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.

FIU would forge a comeback in the second half, holding Arkansas State scoreless for four minutes to bring the deficit to 49-40 on an 8-0 run.

The success would be short lived, however, as the Indians held FIU without a field goal for over five minutes. The Golden Panthers did hit ten free throws in that time.

Morban would end the drought to cut the score to 61-48 with eight minutes to play.

The Indians would increase the lead to 20, 74-54, as ASU's Tevoris Thompson scored 11 points in a four-and-a-half-minute span.

Arkansas State would keep the 20-point advantage until the final buzzer, winning 85-65. The Indians were led by Antonio Rambo's 19 points.

FIU will now play in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Bowling Green, KY. The Golden Panthers are the No. 5 seed in the East Division and will play New Orleans on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern).