MIAMI, FL – Fans will have an opportunity to watch Joey Cantens and the FIU men’s basketball team on Thursday, October 22, at 6:00 pm when the Panthers host Murray State for an exhibition game. This will mark the program’s first public exhibition game of the year. Fans can attend the game for free.
FIU is coming off a trip to Louisiana, where they took on the Ragin’ Cajuns, defeating them 71-59.
ROAD WORK AHEAD‼️ pic.twitter.com/ifAzCcJ4b1
— FIU Men's Basketball (@FIUHoops) October 18, 2026
Leading the way so far for Cantens’ team has been freshman guard Trey Beamer, who finished that game with 20 points, going 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-5 from three. He also had two rebounds and two assists. He has now led the Panthers in points in both scrimmages.
Beamer, a four-star recruit out of IMG Academy, originally committed to Boston College, but a coaching change there reopened his recruitment, and he chose FIU. The Martinsville native just missed out on being the top-ranked recruit to ever sign with FIU, behind forward Dominique Ferguson, who was also rated a four-star (.9684) and played for FIU in 2011 and 2012, but is the top-rated guard.
East Carolina transfer Corey Caulker is another name who has stood out. He finished with 15 points, going 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from the three. He also had two rebounds and two steals. Caulker played in all 31 games for ECU last season, averaging 7.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. Expect him to play a major role for FIU this upcoming season.
The lone preseason all-conference selection for FIU was Weber State transfer Tijan Saine Jr. The transfer guard is coming off a season where he earned first-team All-Big Sky honors and averaged 17.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, shot 45.4% from the field and 34.7% from beyond the arc. Against Louisiana, Saine put up 10 points, went 3-for-10 from the field and had four assists.
Sophomore big man Seydina N’Diaye came from Daytona State with Cantens. Last season, he appeared in 35 games for the Falcons, starting 10. He also shot 58.% from the field and an even 4-for-4 from three, averaging 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, finishing with 84 blocks. In the scrimmage against Louisiana, he led the Panthers with eight total rebounds (4 offensive/4 defensive). N’Diaye started in the Louisiana game.
Two injuries to note are Noah Mendy and Ramone Seals. Their status for Thursday is unknown, but neither played at Louisiana.
Last season, Murray State went 20-13 and fell in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. They reached the NIT, but fell to Nevada. In 2026-27, the Racers played two exhibition games against Wichita State and Incarnate Word and won both.
These two programs have met three times, where Murray State has won all three matchups. This will be an exhibition game, so an FIU win will not count towards the record.
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