FORT MYERS, Fla. (Men's Basketball) – Things looked good at the start of Saturday's exhibition against Florida Gulf Coast with Florida Tech scoring the game's first 10 points but from there the Division I squad turned up the heat on the Panthers and ran away with a 101-49 victory.
The Panthers shot just 36 percent from the floor, 20 points below the mark set by the Eagles. That disparity in large part was due to a 62-10 discrepancy in points in the paint.
FIT struggled all game with the pressure put on by the FGCU defense, committing 28 turnovers that turned into 41 Eagle points. On the flip side, the Panthers forced just 9 FGCU turnovers and converted them into just six points. The Eagles also controlled a 14-0 advantage in terms of fast break points.
"We didn't get a single fast break opportunity all game, nothing," said head coach
Billy Mims. "They got back and defended every time."
Sam Daniel was the only Panther to reach double figures, posting 20 points, including five three pointers.
Robert Booth notched eight points and nine boards, while
Jordan Majors made half of his six shots on the way to eight points.
Demetris Morant matched Daniel's 20 points to lead FGCU, also grabbing nine rebounds. Christian Carlyle registered 19 points while also posting six boards and six assists.
The Panthers did a good job of forcing tough shots early for the Eagles, resulting in FGCU missing its first six shots and nine of its first 12 in the early minutes. However, the Eagles then converted their next four attempts and over a five minute period drained 10-of-12 shots, including seven layups and dunks. From there, the onslaught was on.
"The depth of a Division I team versus a Division II team showed today," continued Mims. "Their bench outscored ours 43-1, and that one was
Rafael Casanova's free throw with about two minutes to go."
Florida Tech resumes regular season play on Wednesday, hosting Embry-Riddle at the Clemente Center for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip. Live video, audio and stats will be available at FloridaTechSports.com/live.
