WKU Men’s Basketball fell in its regular season finale 92-67 to the FIU Panthers Saturday afternoon.

The Hilltoppers were outperformed by FIU in every major category. WKU could not stop FIU, as the Hilltoppers were outrebounded 48-28, and had no answer to the Panthers’ offense.

WKU came into the day ranked third in Conference USA, averaging 39 rebounds per game. The 28 rebounds is the worst rebounding performance in conference play for the Hilltoppers.

FIU was lights out from the field on their way to the dominant win, shooting 52.9% from the floor and 40% from three. 

WKU could not figure out a way to combat the stellar offense from FIU, shooting just 36.8% from the floor and 33.3% from behind the arc. 

Despite the sluggish shooting, the Hilltoppers had three players finish the day in double figures. Senior forward Grant Newell led the way with 17 points, as senior guard Ryan Myers and freshman guard Armelo Boone contributed 15 and 13, respectively. 

Redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore played just 15 minutes, finishing with six points. Moore appeared to be sluggish after a hard fall early in the first half. He continued to play small stints in the first half, before getting taken out for the final 13 minutes of the game.

The Panthers jumped out to a commanding first-half lead with a 13-1 run. WKU was unable to close the gap, shooting just 33% in the half. FIU took a comfortable 45-33 lead into halftime and never looked back. 

The Hilltoppers finish the regular season 18-13 with an 11-9 conference record. With the loss, WKU is in danger of falling to fourth heading into the CUSA tournament.

WKU looks to regroup as they head to the CUSA Tournament next week in hopes of punching their ticket to March Madness.