MIAMI, FL – The FIU Panthers kicked off a five-game homestand in winning fashion. They defeated the Fort Lauderdale Eagles by a final score of 104-88. It marked a season-high in points scored for the Panthers.
100 For JB
Jeremy Ballard, who entered Tuesday’s contest at 99 wins, notched his 100th career win at the Division I level. They have all come as the head coach at FIU. His next record to reach is 108 wins, which is the most in program history.
“It feels awesome. I just told our team this: getting to do this is such a blessing. I get to coach for a living, work with a staff I love, and coach kids I love every day,” said Ballard following the game. “Sometimes they might lose sight of that, but I don’t. I wake up every day encouraged, excited, and motivated to come work with these guys. It’s an awesome feeling. I’m so fortunate, and I can never express enough gratitude to the administration that has allowed me to be here all these years and accumulate these wins.”
You know JB always keeps it 💯 pic.twitter.com/hX9gqqXXPD
— FIU Men's Basketball (@FIUHoops) November 19, 2025
Welcome Back, Ashton
Ashton Williamson was one of three returning players on this FIU roster, and after a slow start to the season, he finished Tuesday night’s game with a career-high 19 points with four rebounds, six assists, and shot 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc.
Excellence At The Charity Strike
Thanks to Julian Mackey, who went a perfect 12-12, becoming the first FIU player to go perfect from the free throw line with 12 or more attempts since Donte McGill on 12/11/16 at FGCU. As a team, the Panthers went 23-33 (69.7%).
“That really hurt us in the LSU game,” said Ballard. “You go back and look at the missed free throws and missed layups, we really could have been in it at the end had we made those. We have great foul shooters. But the one issue we need to keep addressing is that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. That pressure comes from a good place.”
“These guys have high expectations for themselves, and they all want to do great, but we just have to trust it and take a deep breath. So much of free-throw shooting is confidence and concentration. I thought Julian Mackey stepped up there confidently and was locked in.”
Julian Mackey (12-12 FT) is the first FIU player to go perfect from the free throw line with 12 or more attempts since Donte McGill on 12/11/16 at FGCU. pic.twitter.com/1OnxTl9JPJ
— FIUSportsInfo (@FIUSportsInfo) November 19, 2025
What’s Next?
With the win, FIU moves to 2-2 on the season and will host both James Madison and Omaha for an MTE. The first game will be against the Dukes on Monday, November 24, at 7:00 pm ET. There will be a game between JMU and Omaha on Tuesday, and then the MTE will close out with a 2:00 pm tip between FIU and Omaha.
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