Florida International 88, Florida A&M 72
MIAMI -- Junior forward Tymell Murphy scored a career-high 24 points and junior guard Malik Smith added 23 as Florida International pulled away in the final eight minutes for an 88-72 victory over visiting Florida A&M on Wednesday night.
The Panthers (5-7) were up only 61-59 with under eight minutes to play but went on a 17-5 spurt to pull out to a 14-point advantage with just over five minutes left.
The Rattlers (4-10) were never able to get the game below double digits again.
In addition to his scoring, Murphy also grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds as the Panthers dominated the boards by a 48-38 margin. He was 10 of 18 from the field overall and made his only 3-point attempt. Murphy's previous career high was 22 against Arkansas State earlier this year.
In addition to Murphy's and Smith's scoring, sophomore Marco Porcher Jimenez came off the bench for 12 points, matching his career high.
Reggie Lewis and Jamari Bradshaw led the Rattlers with 15 points each.
