WINTER PARK, Fla. – Florida Tech men's basketball dropped its season opener to Morehouse, 87-82, in the first game of the South Region Tip-off on Friday afternoon at Warden Arena.

Sam Daniel made six three-pointers and recorded a game-high 32 points to go along with eight rebounds for the Panthers. Jordan Majors tallied 17 points and six assists and Michael Milligan added a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds. Valur Valsson notched 10 points in his Florida Tech debut.
 
FIT knocked down 52.6 percent from the field and was 10-for-27 from beyond the arc in the loss. The Maroon Tigers shot 40.6 percent and made 7-for-22 from three point range. The Crimson and Gray finished with a narrow advantage on the glass, 35-34.
 
Daniel got off to a strong start, as the preseason All-American scored the Panthers' first eight points of the game. Valsson knocked a trey off an assist from Milligan and FIT led, 11-6, with 16:19 remaining in the first half.
 
A 9-0 run gave MC a 15-11 edge with just over 14 minutes left in the stanza. FIT then cut the deficit down to one, 16-17, on a three-point play by Mate Papai, the first career points for the Hungarian national.
 
After exchanging baskets over the next minute of action, Morehouse outscored FIT 15-4 over a five minute span and took a 38-25 lead with 7:19 to go in the half.
 
MC held onto its double-digit advantage for much of the remainder of the period and took a 47-36 advantage into the break.
 
The Panthers opened the second half by chipping away at the deficit and, after a three-pointer by Milligan, the margin was down to five, 51-46 at the 16:10 mark of the stanza.
 
However, Morehouse fired back with a 21-9 run and garnered its largest lead of the game at 17 points, 72-55, with 9:34 left on the clock.
 
FIT countered with a 20-6 run of its own and cut it to a one possession game, 78-75, with 3:42 remaining. Two free throws by Majors then brought the Panthers' deficit to just one, 83-82, with 1:07 to go.
 
The Maroon Tigers forced FIT into a pair of costly fouls in the waning seconds and were able to finish off the game at the charity stripe for the five-point victory.
 
Florida Tech returns to the court on Saturday for a showdown with Clark Atlanta at noon at Warden Arena. CAU is coming off a huge win in its opening game of the South Region Tip-off, upsetting No. 13 Rollins, 106-103. Fans can access live coverage of the contest at FloridaTechSports.com/live.