HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—Nine players scored as Florida International used a balanced attack to hold off cold-shooting Denver 53-49 on Saturday night in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Jeremy Allen scored 14 points to lead the No. 6 seed Panthers (11-18), who advance to face No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee on Sunday.
Marvin Roberts added 12 points for Florida International, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
Denver (13-17) defeated the Panthers 79-70 in overtime on Jan. 15. The No. 3 seed Pioneers shot 45 percent from the field in that win, but the shooting didn’t carry over to Saturday.
After hitting just 5 of 22 shots (22.7 percent) in the first half, Denver’s shooting woes continued. The Pioneers were 6-of-30 shooting midway through the second half before recovering to shoot 17 of 51 (33 percent) for the game.
Brian Stafford led Denver with 22 points.
