MELBOURNE, Fla. – Florida Tech was no match for a hot-shooting Tampa squad on Saturday and the Panthers fell to the Spartans, 99-69, in Sunshine State Conference action at the Clemente Center.

The loss drops Tech to 0-2 in SSC play, while Tampa (1-2 SSC) picks up its first league win of the season. The 30-point loss is the largest margin of defeat for the Panthers since falling to Florida Southern, 101-71, last season on Feb. 10 in Lakeland.

Derek Murphy paced all players, and notched a career-high, with 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting, 4-of-8 from three, to go along with three rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes.

Trey Schaneville scored a career-high nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, while Antonis Pefanis finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. RJ Coil ended the game with four points, a game-high nine boards, four steals, and two blocks.

The Crimson & Gray were out-rebounded, 38-30, and allowed Tampa to score 20 points off Tech's 18 turnovers. UT also controlled the paint, 34-28, and finished with more fast break points, 16-7, and bench points, 28-19.

Tech made 37.5 percent (24-of-64) of its shot attempts in the game, including just 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from beyond the arc, and 14-of-21 at the charity stripe. Tampa, on the other hand, knocked down 57.6 percent (34-of-59) from the field, 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from three, and made 16-of-18 free throws.

The Spartans got off to a fast start with threes on three of their first five possessions to jump out to a 13-4 lead.  Tech responded with a 5-0 run, capped by Pefanis' put-back with 14:28 left in the half, to trim its deficit to 13-9.

However, Tampa ensued on a 21-10 spree and built its advantage to 34-19 with 8:02 remaining in the first half. The margin continued to grow for UT the rest of the frame and the Spartans took a 46-30 lead into the halftime break.

Tampa shot an impressive 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc in the first half, while the Panthers were just 2-of-14 on similar takes.

The Spartans' onslaught resumed in the second half as they padded their lead to 26 points, 63-37, with 15:43 to go.

Despite the deficit, Florida Tech continued to fight. The Panthers went on an 11-3 run and were able to cut the margin to 19 points, 67-48, on a steal and fast-break layup by Schaneville.

Just after the 13-minute mark of the second half, Tampa started on a 28-13 run and increased its advantage to a game-high 34 points, 95-61, with 3:56 left. The Spartans closed out the final moments of the game before earning the 30-point win. 

Following a 10-day layoff, Florida Tech will host its annual Winter Classic on Dec. 18 and 19 at the Clemente Center. This year, the Panthers welcome Columbia International, Embry-Riddle and Tiffin to Melbourne to compete in the two-day event. Tech will face CIU on the 18th and Tiffin on the 19th, both games will tip-off at 6 p.m.

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