MELBOURNE, FLA. - After an 11 day break, Florida Tech (6-5, SSC 3-2) returned to conference action on the home hardwood of the Clemente Center to route Palm Beach Atlantic (1-11, SSC 0-6) in a one-point nail biter, 54-53.

Florida Tech shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field and recorded a game-best 28.6 percent shooting from behind the arc. Defensively, the Panthers held PBA's bench to just 11 points and out-rebounded the Sailfish 44-40 to mark the fifth straight game this season that Florida Tech has won the battle of the boards. 

Running the offense, sophomore Tanease Richardson knocked down a season-high 16 points on a 7-for-14 shooting performance, which was followed by five rebounds, one assist and two steals in 19 minutes of action.

Senior Kailyn Ebb and junior Gracie Doane sank 12 points each, with Ebb shooting 4-for-7 from the floor and Doane recording a 4-for-9 effort from downtown. Senior Markeema Crawford tallied a team-high 11 rebounds, and sophomore Gudlaug Juliusdottir registered a team-best four assists.

Florida Tech opened up to a quick 11-4 lead at the 6:51 mark of the first quarter, which included scoring efforts from three different players. After Palm Beach stopped the scoring spree with two baskets of its own, Doane sank a three-pointer to extend the Panthers' advantage to 15-8 with 3:32 left in the opening period. The Panthers widened their margin to 10 points on a layup by Richardson to conclude the first, 17-10.

Entering the second quarter, FIT jumped on a 6-2 run to extend its advantage to 23-12 with 7:07 minutes left until halftime. However, the Sailfish answered back with a seven-point streak to close the gap, 26-21. With 1:04 remaining on the clock, Palm Beach drained the last basket before the teams entered the locker room, and decreased the Panthers stretch at 32-25. 

In the third stanza, Palm Beach tied things up at the 5:43 mark, grabbing an 11-4 run to bring the score to 36. From there, the teams traded baskets until Doane knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the FIT advantage ahead, 44-37 with 1:34 left.

The teams started off aggressively trading points until the 7:27 mark, where Ebb scored from the charity stripe to enlarge the Panthers lead by six, 49-43. With 1:42 left on the clock, the Sailfish drained four consecutive baskets to put the game at a one-point decision, 54-53. However, the Panthers offense quickly ceased the PBA run and capped off its sixth seasonal win, 54-53.

Next up, Florida Tech will host Florida Southern on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

For tickets and live coverage of the event, fans can access FloridaTechSports.com!