MIAMI – Tymell Murphy scored 22 points, grabbed five boards and recorded two steals and Florida International snapped Arkansas State's four-game winning streak, beating the Red Wolves 80-61 Thursday in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
Malik Smith, who entered the contest as the Panthers' (2-2) leading scorer on the season at 17.7 points per game, finished with 11 and Jerome Fink and Juan Ferrales added 10 apiece.
FIU, which leads the Sun Belt in free-throw percentage (74.3) and ranks second in 3-point percentage (36.8), hit 8 of 11 free throws and 8 of 15 3-pointers in the win.
The Panthers took a 33-26 advantage into the break and never led by less than 10 in the second half. Smith 3-pointer with 3:43 left to play put FIU ahead 75-54.
Ed Townsel led Arkansas State (4-2) with 13 points and has hit double figures in all six games this season.
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