Friday, November 30, 2001

Auburn breaks FIU win streak, 67-55

errick Bird hit for a season-high 24 points that included five 3-pointers as Auburn (4-1) led from start to finish and came away with a 67-55 victory over FIU, Friday in Auburn, Ala.

Taurance Johnson topped FIU (4-2) with 13 points, all coming in the second half, as the Golden Panthers saw their three-game win streak come to an end. Carlos Fernandez added nine points and John Boney and Fab Fisher had eight points each for FIU.

The Tigers stretched a 29-21 halftime advantage into a 14-point, 41-27 lead with 15:02 to play, then, with Bird connecting on four straight treys, Auburn held its biggest lead of the nigh, 58-40 with 6:59 left.

But FIU refused to fold, putting on an 11-4 run and closing to within 62-51 with 2:01 remaining as Boney and Fernandez came off the bench and accounted for eight of those points.

FIU dug itself an early hole it couldn't get out. Brandon Robinson scored the first six points of the game, then Bird went to work, leading an 11-4 run with seven points, and Auburn held a 17-4 advantage seven minutes into the contest.

The Golden Panthers got to within five in the first half, 21-16, when Carlos Morban hit a 3-pointer with 5:36 remaining in the half. A short jumper by Marquis Daniels at the buzzer gave the Tigers their eight-point lead at the intermission.

It might have been worse, considering the Golden Panthers were out-rebounded in the half, 19-11, scored no second-chance points and shot .346 (9-26) from the field. But 16 Auburn turnovers in the first 20 minutes helped keep the Tigers within sight.

"We need to understand that our opponents are scouting us and maybe the word is we're a little soft and not attacking the rim with any kind of aggressiveness. We have to understand that and begin to do things a little more aggressively going at the rim," said FIU head coach Donnie Marsh.

FIU returns to South Florida and takes on cross-city rival the University of Miami, Monday at the Miami Arena.