MIAMI -- — Amaree Abram scored 20 points as Louisiana Tech beat Florida International 82-71 on Saturday.

Abram also contributed three steals for the Bulldogs (17-7, 6-5 Conference USA). AJ Bates scored 19 points while going 8 of 11 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and added seven assists and three steals. Daniel Batcho shot 6 of 10 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line to finish with 17 points, while adding five rebounds and three blocks.

Jayden Brewer led the way for the Panthers (8-16, 2-9) with 15 points. Jonathan Aybar added 13 points and two steals for Florida International. Dashon Gittens also had 12 points and seven rebounds.

The score was 45-30 at halftime, with Bates racking up 12 points. Louisiana Tech turned a seven-point second-half lead into a 14-point advantage with a 7-0 run to make it a 70-56 lead with 6:43 left in the half. Abram scored 12 second-half points.

------

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.