Saturday, November 24, 2001

FIU comes from behind, nips Princeton, 49-44

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photo by Geoff Anderson FIU's Carlos Morban made the most of his first intercollegiate start as FIU beat Princeton, 49-44, at the Golden Panther Arena Saturday afternoon. Morban finished with a team-high 13 points including two big free throws in the final seconds. He also had a dunk and was 1 of 1 from beyond the three-point arc.

reshman Carlos Morban scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half as Florida International (3-1) came away with a 49-44 men's basketball victory over Princeton (0-3), Saturday afternoon in Miami. Freshman Taurance Johnson had nine points for FIU and Rodrigo Viegas grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Princeton's Mike Bechtold led all scorers with 16 pointson 5 of 9 shooting, 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Konrad Wysocki and Andre Logan each scored nine points for the Tigers before fouling out.

The Tigers led 20-19 at the half with Bechtold accounting for nine. With 11:28 to play, Princeton held a 32-27 advantage on a Logan basket, but FIU would score 12 of the next 13 points of the game for a 39-33 lead with 6:27 remaining.

Carlos Fernandez came off the bench and scored all four of his points over that stretch. His layup tied the game at 33, then a basket by Chris Carter put FIU up, 35-33 with 8:14 left for its first lead since late in the first half. Morban also had a hand in the run with two dunks and a three-pointer.

FIU led by five with less than a minute to play, but Wysocki's three-pointer made it 46-44. After a Viegas free throw with 15 seconds remaining, Princeton's Kyle Wente missed a three that would have tied it. Morban made two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to assure the victory.

Princeton was hurt by a tough shooting day. The Tigers, who came into the game shoting almost 50% for the first two games, was 16 for 44 against FIU, including 6 for 26 from three-point range. FIU, meanwhile, hit on 16 of 34 (.471) field goal attempts plus four of six free throws in the last minute of play.

"Our kids were able to spread the floor and work inside. But more than anything, I liked what I saw defensively," said FIU head coach Donnie Marsh. "Carlos Morban really dictated tempo and another guy who never gets enough credit and who was sensational in my estimation was Chris Carter."

FIU plays the last of five games at home to open the season Monday at 7:30 p.m. against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Call (866) FIU-GAME for ticket information.