MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men's Basketball) - It was a special afternoon for the Florida Tech seniors as they enjoyed their final game on the hardwood at the Clemente Center. It was not only a special afternoon but also an exciting day in which they were all recognized for their contributions to both the team and academics throughout their collegiate careers. Although an unfortunate end for the Panthers, the team started out strong by managing to outscore the Sailfish 18-12 after the first 10 minutes of the game without the traditional starting lineup. Two of the 18 points came from senior center Miki Rajovic who also recorded three rebounds in only five minutes of play. 
  
The team continued with that momentum for the rest of the half expanding its lead out to double-digits before ending with a 40-33 lead going into the locker room. The strong first half was lead by Patrick Anderson with 11 points and followed by Jordan Majors who had eight. On the rebounding front, Sam Daniel managed to grab five boards while senior Robert Booth was not far behind with four of his own.

In the first five minutes of the second half, the Crimson and Gray looked poised to finish off the Sailfish in a dominate fashion after they had survived a brief PBA run and opened the lead back up to 10 in their favor. But, then the team began to turn the ball over and allowed their opponent to slowly close the gap over the next 10 minutes. FIT conceded the lead with 4:45 left to go in the game and could not find a way to take it back from the Sailfish. 

Despite the second half outcome, some of the men put in a strong performance to keep the game close. Sam Daniel came alive in the second half, draining six-of-nine shots and making two free throws for a total of 18 points in the period, while on the boards Booth picked up eight.

On the game, Daniel was the overall leading scorer with a posted 25 points. In addition to his output, three others managed a double-digit effort on the night with Anderson at 13, Booth at 12 and Majors at 10. Majors and Anderson also dropped multiple dimes for the team with totals of six and five respectively. 

Defensively Booth led the charge with a game-high 12 rebounds which coupled with his 12 points on the night to make good for the lone Panthers double-double. Rafael Casanova showed off his quick hands in a four steal effort for the team.

This however is not the end of the road for Florida Tech as they clinched the eight-seed tonight when rival Saint Leo squandered a 17 point second half lead in their game. This means the men will pack up their gear and head to Miami Shores, Fla. to take on No. 1 seed Barry. This game will take place Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.