MELBOURNE, Fla. – Following a quick holiday, the Panther men's basketball team is to return to action this weekend to host the 9th Annual Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament. The event is to take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23-24, at the Clemente Center.

Visiting Melbourne for this year's edition of the tournament are Concordia St. Paul, Georgian Court and Puerto Rico-Bayamon.

In 2017, the Panthers defeated Bayamon, 84-77, in the opening game of the tournament before routing Union, 97-77, in the championship game. The Crimson & Gray have won the tournament four years in a row.

Tech (2-1) bested Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 80-67, in its most recent game on Tuesday. The Panthers have won two in a row after losing their season opener to Auburn-Montgomery, 71-65. Derek Murphy leads Florida Tech with 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He is one of four Panthers who are averaging double-digit scoring.

Concordia is 3-0 this season after knocking off Arkansas-Monticello (86-71), Arkansas Tech (118-113 3ot), and Edgewood (85-70). Bryndan Matthews and Isaiah McKay have guided the Golden Bears to their undefeated record. Matthews is averaging a double-double with 27.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, while McKay is scoring 26.3 points a night.

Georgian Court is 1-4 in 2018 with all four losses coming away from home. However, GCU is coming off its first win, a 73-67 victory over Assumption College on Nov. 20. Caleb Bowser paces the Lions with 21.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Matt Ringel is almost averaging a double-double a night with 10.6 points and 9.8 boards.

Bayamon is off to a 2-0 start this season with wins over Montevallo (68-65) and Young Harris (97-85). Nathaniel Martinez leads the Vaqueros at 21.0 points per game while Evander Ortiz is averaging 6.0 assists.

Below is a full schedule for the Friday and Saturday.

 
Live video, audio and stats will be available for all four games of the 2018 Thanksgiving Tournament. Fans can access live coverage of the action at FloridaTechSports.com.
 
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