NCAA News Wire
Florida International 59, Kennesaw State 38
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Florida International took advantage of Kennesaw State’s cold shooting to pull out to a double-digit lead in the first half, then coasted for a 59-38 victory Tuesday night in Miami.
The Owls jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening minutes but then hit a dry spell that saw them go more than 11 minutes without a field goal. Their only points in that span came on two free throws.
The Panthers also went without a basket for over five minutes after taking an 18-11 lead with 8:12 left in the first half, but they recovered over the final three minutes to take a 28-15 lead to the locker room.
After shooting only 6-for-31 (19.6 percent) from the field in the first half, the Owls warmed up only slightly in the second but never drew closer than 11 points. They finished the game hitting 14 of 52 (26.9 percent) from the field.
The Panthers led by 23 points on two occasions, 54-31 and 56-33, while shooting 43.6 percent from the field (24-for-55). They dominated the rebounding, 44-34.
Guard Dennis Mavin and forward Daviyon Draper scored 16 points each to lead FIU in scoring, and Kennesaw State guard Yonel Brown also had 16 to tie for game honors. The Owls’ No. 2 scorer, forward Nigel Pruitt, who had a 13.7-point average, finished scoreless, missing all seven of his attempts from the field.
The win was only the second in the past five games for FIU (5-3). Kennesaw State (3-5) had a three-game winning streak snapped.
