TAMPA, Fla. – Junior Richard Coil recorded his ninth double-double of the season to lead Florida Tech (11-12, 6-9 SSC) back from a second half deficit and earn a much needed win over Tampa (8-14, 4-12 SSC) on the road, 64-60, in Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday.  

The victory snaps a four-game losing streak and gives the Panthers the season sweep over the Spartans.

"One of the best second half comebacks in my FIT tenure," exclaimed head coach Billy Mims. "Despite trailing by eight at the half, these guys never lost focus.

RJ (Coil) had a monster game on both ends of the floor. Mike (Milligan) made a huge impact late in the game with his energy off the bench, Sam (Daniel) finally made a big three when we really needed one, and I rode our horses all the way to the finish line tonight!"

Coil finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, both game-highs. Jordan Majors added 13 points and five boards and Patrick Anderson recorded 11 points, two rebounds and two steals. Valur Valsson registered seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Crimson and Gray went 24-for-60 (.400) from the field and made all 11 of their free throws in the game. Tampa made 23-for-58 (.397) of its shot attempts.

The Panthers won the rebounding battle, 37-31, and outscored Tampa in the paint, 38-22, and in second chance points, 11-6.

UT controlled momentum early on and led the first 34:26 of game time.

The Spartans jumped out to a 4-0 lead with 18:33 to go in the first half and then exchanged baskets with FIT until taking an 18-11 advantage on a three-pointer by Pat Bacon with 10:17 remaining.

Florida Tech cut the margin to three, 25-22, on a lay-in by Anderson at the 3:18 mark but the Spartans outscored the Panthers 9-4 the rest of the half and took a 34-26 edge into the break.

Tampa's advantage grew to a game-high 10 points, 51-41, on a trey by Marcel Robinson with 11:46 remaining. Valsson answered with a three of his own on the ensuing possession, kicking off a 13-2 spurt that put FIT ahead for the first time in the game, 54-53, with 5:19 left on the clock.

Sam Daniel, who struggled in the contest, knocked down a trey to give Florida Tech its largest lead of the night at 60-55 with less than three minutes on the clock.

However, a 5-0 run by the Spartans tied the game up at 60-60 with 1:48 to go. Majors made a layup off an assist from Daniel with 1:14 remaining, putting the Panthers ahead for good.

The Spartans had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds but a three-point attempt by Anthony Gamble rimmed out and Michael Milligan collected the rebound and drew the foul. The senior made both of his free throws to seal the victory and put the Panthers back in playoff positioning.

"This was a game that we needed so bad and I decided to stick with our veterans as long as possible," stated Mims. "After blowing big leads in our last two games down the stretch, I'm so happy for these guys to be able to come from behind and win a big one on the road. We surely seem to be playing better on the road this season than we have at home and hopefully that will bode well for a long playoff run!"

Florida Tech will look to build on the come from behind win when they travel to Lakeland, Florida on Saturday, Feb. 10, for a SSC matchup with Florida Southern. Tipoff between the Panthers and Moccasins is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at George W. Jenkins Field House.