MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (Men's Basketball) – It was a somber scene in Miami Shores on Wednesday night as Florida Tech played well in an extremely tight game against the Sunshine State Conference Tournament's No. 1 seed, Barry . The two teams traded the lead back and forth all night, but in the end the Panthers ran out of steam and fell 87-84.
 
From the beginning, both teams were trading buckets which kept the game close throughout, with neither team grabbing a lead larger than eight points. However, in the first half, the gap never reached higher than six. When the halftime buzzer sounded, FIT had a 39-36 lead going into the locker room.
 
This lead was due in part to huge outing from Antonis Pefanis who drained three treys to grab a share of the scoring lead, alongside Sam Daniel, with nine points. Jordan Majors and Patrick Anderson also showed why they were mainstays for the Crimson and Gray all year as they both snagged six points of their own in the first twenty minutes of action.
 
To begin the second half it looked as if the Bucs came out inspired, quickly grabbing the lead back and holding on to it for the next 11 minutes. But then Florida Tech's offense came alive and managed to grab a one-point lead, 67-66, with 7:57 left on the clock. The Panthers continued to build upon their lead over the next minute and a half, increasing the lead to 74-68 on a jumper by Pefanis.
 
However, Barry proved why it was a Top-10 team in the nation for much of the year, and consistently atop the SSC rankings, when it methodically worked the Panthers' eight-point advantage down and then regained the lead with 4:15 left in the contest.
 
Despite the unfortunate letdown, two of Florida Tech's star players put in career performances to make the Bucs sweat. Majors and Anderson both torched Barry for 16 points in the second half on a combined 11-of-16 from the field. Majors was also a menace on the boards in the last 20 minutes, grabbing four rebounds despite being primarily a wing player.
 
On the game, Majors and Anderson led the scoring effort with 22 points apiece. Majors and Anderson also made their teammates look good as they both dished out five assists in the game. In addition to their outputs, two others managed double-digit outputs in Pefanis and Daniel.
 
Defensively, Derek Murphy and Robert Booth led the team on the rebounding front, each grabbing six boards during the game. Majors, Murphy and Anderson all managed two steals as well.
 
Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, this will most likely be their final game of the year. The team, which returns much of its core players next year, will look to strengthen themselves for a strong run in the 2017-18 season.