MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Florida Tech dropped a hard-fought matchup with Auburn-Montgomery 88-84 during the final day of the South Region Tip-off on Saturday.
 
Sesan Russell led the Panthers in scoring for the second night in a row as the sophomore recorded a game-high 22 points with six rebounds and four assists while making 7-of-8 free throws.
 
Mekhii Noble tallied 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Runako Zielgler scored 17 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Jalen Hodges added 11 points and six boards.
 
It was a back-and-forth contest early on between the Panthers and Warhawks. With less than 13 minutes to go in the first half, AUM was able to manufacture a 15-3 run that put the home team ahead 37-23.
 
Tech was able to trim the lead to 44-40 with 1:56 remaining in the first half following four straight points by Niall Harris. The Warhawks tacked on a few more points before halftime and carried a 49-40 advantage into the break.
 
The Panthers were able to keep it close throughout the second half and trimmed the margin to 71-69 with 7:23 to go following a nice lay-in by Ziegler that was setup by a Pefanis steal.
 
A pair of free throws by Russell with 2:34 remaining tied the ball game at 79-79. However, turnovers and poor shooting plagued the Panthers the rest of the way as AUM was able to build its lead to 88-82 with 14 seconds to go.
 
Following the free throws, Ziegler sped down the court and sunk a layup to make the score 88-84. Hodges was able to steal the ball away with five seconds left and get a shot off but it did not drop and time ran out on the play, sending Tech to its second loss of the season.
 
Florida Tech made 25-of-63 (39.7%) shots in the game, including 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. AUM was much more efficient going 31-of-64 (48.4%) with 10 made three-pointers. The Warhawks corralled more rebounds 42-41 and outscored the Panthers in the paint (42-38), second-chance points (14-13) and bench points (30-13).
 
The men's basketball team is back in action this Thursday, Nov. 14, in its home opener against Johnson. That contest is set to tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Clemente Center.
 
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