Florida International 53, Stetson 52

Senior guard Dennis Mavin scored four points in the final minute, including a driving layup down the lane with five seconds left, to give the Florida International Panthers a come-from-behind 53-52 victory over the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday at the Edmunds Center in DeLand, Fla.

The Panthers (2-0) led only twice in the game and fell behind by 10 points in the first half and by seven twice in the second before Mavin’s heroics gave them their second victory in two outings.

Mavin hit two free throws with 56 seconds left to bring his team within 52-51, and then worked the clock down to the final seconds after Stetson guard Divine Myles turned the ball over with about 26 seconds left to give the ball back to FIU.

Stetson had one chance at pulling out the win but FIU forward Adrian Diaz blocked guard B.J. Glasford’s drive under the basket at the buzzer.

The loss dropped Stetson to 1-2 on the season.

Neither team shot well with Stetson checking in at 41.7 percent and FIU at 35.3 for the game. Each team had just one player in double figures with Mavin finishing with 15 and Myles leading Stetson with 11.

The Hatters led early 16-6 but the visiting Panthers went on an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 17-16 with seven minutes left in the first half. That lasted only 29 seconds.

Forward Brian Pegg put the Hatters back up with a layup, and they led the rest of the game until the final minute.

The Hatters led by seven points 52-45 with 3:10 remaining before the Panthers closed the game on an 8-0 run.