DUNK CITY, Fla. – Despite an early 14-point lead, the FGCU men's basketball team (8-2) allowed visiting FIU (6-4) to shoot 65 percent from the floor in the second half and fell at home to the Panthers Sunday afternoon, 69-63.
 
Brett Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) led FGCU with a team-high 15 points, while Bernard Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) and Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./St. John College HS/Rice) both added 12 for the Eagles. Thompson grabbed two rebounds to reach 500 for his career, becoming just the fourth player in program history to accomplish the feat.
 
The loss was just the second to a non-conference opponent at home for FGCU since the 2011-12 season as the Eagles were 22-1 over the past 3+ seasons entering the contest. Additionally, the setback was the fourth in the last 38 home games overall, dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season.
 
Dennis Mavin tallied a career-high 27 points for FIU, which shot 50 percent for the game from the floor (25-50), the highest any opponent has shot against FGCU this year. The Eagles came into the game with the nation's 12th-best field-goal percentage defense, allowing teams to connect at just a 35.3-percent clip from the floor. Marco Porcher Jimenez added 14 points off the bench, while Daviyon Draper netted 10 for the Panthers, who have now defeated FGCU in consecutive years.
 
"I'd like to compliment FIU for totally dominating the second half," said FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "Mavin especially controlled the game. He was very, very good. Once they got on a little bit of a roll we weren't able to get it turned around. It was a disappointing way to end the day."
 
Playing for the first time in a week since defeating Massachusetts on the road last Sunday, FGCU raced out to a 20-6 lead midway through the first half and held a 27-18 lead with just three minutes to play in the opening stanza before the Panthers started to close the gap. The Eagles took a 32-28 lead into the half, but weren't able to hold on, marking the first time in 28 games FGCU lost a game when holding a halftime lead.
 
A Dominique Williams jumper at the 11:24 mark gave FIU a 43-41 advantage – its first lead since 2-0. The jumper was part of a 12-0 run for the Panthers, who turned a 41-37 deficit at the 13:25 mark into a 49-41 lead with 8:35 remaining. A DeBose jumper at the 7:29 mark finally snapped a five-minute scoring drought and briefly ignited FGCU as the Eagles went on a 7-2 run to trail by only three, 51-48, with six minutes remaining.
 
However, FIU responded with a 7-0 run to take its first double-figure lead of the afternoon at 58-48 with 3:46 remaining. The lead blossomed to as much as 13, 66-53, with less than two minutes to play before the Eagles trimmed the final deficit to six.
 
Jamail Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) and Nate Hicks (Panama City Beach, Fla./J.R. Arnold HS/Georgia Tech) tied for the team lead with eight rebounds each, but FGCU was out-rebounded for the game, 39-27. Mavin led the Panthers with a game-high nine boards to just miss out on a double-double, while Draper added eight.
 
FGCU entered the game ranked No. 12 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and had an RPI ranking of 34 courtesy of the program's best Division-I start.
 
The Eagles will look to bounce back when they remain at home to face Furman (2-6) in the second game of a doubleheader Friday with the women's program. The women will tip off against Northern Colorado at 4:30 p.m., while the men will follow at 7:30. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, calling 239-590-7145 or logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.
 
GAME NOTES: FGCU shot 40 percent from the field (21-52) … FIU out-scored the Eagles in the paint, 28-20, and in bench points, 32-22 ... Jones and Marc-Eddy Norelia added seven points for the Eagles … DeBose had a career-high-tying four steals, while Thompson recorded three pilfers and now has three or more steals in a game four times this year … Comer played just eight minutes in the first half due to having two fouls.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
General-admission tickets for all FGCU men's basketball games at Alico Arena are still available and can be purchased by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets, in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office or over the phone at 239-590-7145. For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, and "Like" us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach Joe Dooley, who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.