Florida International 48, Texas Southern 45
Florida International recovered from a slow start to post 48-45 victory over host Texas Southern Saturday afternoon.
The visiting Panthers (4-5) trailed 21-12 with just over eight minutes left in the first half but went on a 16-2 run to close out the half with a 28-23 lead.
They never trailed in the second half, though the Tigers (1-11) managed to trim a nine-point deficit with just over five minutes left down to three points when Omar Strong hit three free throws with 1:04 remaining.
Neither team scored again.
Freshman forward Jerome Frink came off the bench to lead the Panthers in scoring with 14 points, his biggest output since scoring 22 in his collegiate debut in the season opener against Boston College.
The Panthers also got 12 points from Marco Porcher Jimenez as their bench outscored their starters 32-16. Leading scorer Malik Smith (15.9) scored only two points in making only one of his seven attempts from the floor, and Tymell Murphy (13.8) scored only six.
Strong scored 18 to lead Texas Southern.
