Final Score: Middle Tennessee 66, FIU 64

Miami, FL (Sports Network) - A jumper by Shawn Jones in the waning moments broke a 64-64 tie and gave the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders the two-point win over the FIU Panthers in Sun Belt Conference action at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Jones finished with six points and six rebounds off the bench for the Blue Raiders (19-4, 11-1 Sun Belt) as they won their eighth game in a row and remained in control of the East Division standings. Raymond Cintron tallied 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range for Middle Tennessee, followed by Marcos Knight with 10 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

The Panthers (11-10, 6-6) were paced by Tymell Murphy who registered a double- double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Marco Porcher Jimenez and Malik Smith with 15 and 11 points, respectively, as they lost for the second time in as many games.

Middle Tennessee led by as many as four points in the first half, but the Panthers then held the visitors to a mere 26.9 percent shooting from the floor over the first 20 minutes of action. Thanks to a 6-of-10 shooting performance behind the 3-point line in the period, FIU was able to take a 36-19 lead into the break.

In the second half the Blue Raiders erupted for an impressive 63.0 percent from the field, including a perfect 5-of-5 beyond the arc, clawing their way back and setting Jones up for the game-winner.

Middle Tennessee landed in the win column despite turning the ball over 19 times on the night.