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DENTON, Texas (AP) -- Junior Matias had 26 points as Florida International advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament for the first time in six years with a 69-64 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday night.
Florida International (13-16) will next play the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal between Louisiana-Lafayette and Middle Tennessee. It will be the Golden Panthers' first tournament semifinal since 1999, their first year in the Sun Belt.
Ismael N'Diaye scored nine of his 11 points in the second half for Florida International.
Brandon Freeman scored 15 points and Zack Wright added 13 for Arkansas-Little Rock (18-10), which had entered the tournament as the conference's Eastern division champion.
Wright's 3-pointer tied the game 47-47 midway through the second half, but N'Diaye's layup on the next possession gave the Golden Panthers the lead for good.
Florida International came out cold from the field, missing seven of its first nine shots, but the Golden Panthers rallied behind Matias. He scored 17 points in the first half and was 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point arc.
