MELBOURNE, Fla. – Four Panthers scored in double figures as Florida Tech shook off a 10-day layoff and overcame an early double-digit deficit to take down Columbia International, 96-82, on the first day of the Winter Classic at the Clemente Center.

The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Panthers as they improve to 6-1 versus non-conference opponents. CIU drops to 6-7 overall.

Antonis Pefanis led all players with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and 5-of-8 from three, to go along with nine rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Derek Murphy and Valur Valsson notched double-doubles in the win over the Rams. Murphy had 24 points, 12 boards, and four assists, while Valsson recorded 18 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. RJ Coil added 11 points and six rebounds.

The Crimson & Gray had to overcome an impressive start to the game by CIU as the Rams went 7-of-7 on three-pointers to open the game and led the Panthers, 21-7, just 4:32 into the contest.

"We were not playing a lick of defense at the beginning of the game," said head coach Billy Mims. "We did not start the game with a lot of energy, effort or enthusiasm and we began to dig ourselves a hole watching them drill threes on us.

"So I called a timeout and we changed up our defensive strategy. When the guys came out of that first time out, they were more focused and played harder. By the end of the half, our defense was playing much better and our offense was beginning to pick up."

The Panthers' perimeter defense improved as well as following the timeout as they limited CIU to 9-of-29 shooting on treys the remainder of the game.

After surviving the early bombardment from the Rams, the Florida Tech offense struck back by mounting a 16-2 run over the next five minutes of game time and tying the game at 23-23 on a pair of free throws by Valsson with 10:06 to go in the first half.

Tech and CIU exchanged baskets and the Panthers eventually evened the score up at 39-39 after two makes at the charity stripe by Mekhii Noble with 5:03 left on the clock.

Pefanis' three-point effort off a Valsson steal gave the Panthers a 42-39 edge. The junior then pushed Tech's lead to 48-39 with 3:02 left in the half when he knocked down a fast-break three following a steal by Trey Schaneville. The Panthers went on to take a 52-45 advantage over CIU into halftime.

The second half started similar to the first, however, it was Florida Tech who was throwing the haymakers early on.   

The Panthers opened the period on a 33-10 run and took their largest lead of the game, 85-55, with 9:19 remaining. Florida Tech would cruise the remainder of the contest as head coach Billy Mims unloaded the bench to rest the starters.

Despite the deficit, CIU went down fighting. Facing much of the Panthers' reserves at the end of the game, the Rams cut the margin to 95-82 with 18 seconds to go before losing by a 14-point margin.  

Florida Tech shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the field and made 12 three-pointers against CIU. The Rams, on the other hand, made 42.9 percent (27-of-63) of their shots in the game, including 16-of-36 from beyond the arc. Both teams did well at the charity stripe, converting at least 75 percent of their free throw attempts. 

The Panthers won the rebounding battle, 44-32, including a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass leading to a 13-5 disparity in second-chance points. Tech also doubled-up CIU in points in the paint, 36-18, and scored 20 points off of 15 Ram turnovers. 

Florida Tech will try for a repeat performance in Wednesday's matchup against a talented and speedy Tiffin squad during Day 2 of the Winter Classic at the Clemente Center. The Dragons defeated Embry-Riddle, 99-95, in the opening game of the Classic. Tip-off between Tech and Tiffin is set for 6 p.m. 

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