COLUMBIA, SC – In its second and final game of the NCAA South Regional Tip-off, Florida Tech faced off with Auburn Montgomery. The Panthers battled to pull out an 80-72 win over the Warhawks which sent them back home 2-0 on the year.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: Florida Tech 80, Auburn Montgomery 72 
Records: Florida Tech (2-0, Auburn Montgomery 0-2) 
Location: HRC Arena | Columbia, SC 

FIRST HALF: 

• The Panthers made the early push with a 7-0 run to give them a 12-5 lead. Right before the first media timeout this run was capped on a breakaway dunk from Sam Grant. 
• Grant continued to be effective offensively with another dunk then a turnaround hook shot to give Florida Tech a 23-11 lead.  
• The Warhawks did not back down using a 7-1 run, to cut the Panthers lead to 33-27 with 3:39 remaining. 
• Lay-ups on back-to-back possessions by Konstantinos Lagos in the final minute and a defensive spot for the Panthers pushed their lead back to 11 points at halftime. 
• As a team, Florida Tech forced 11 turnovers and scored 16 points off them. On the other hand, the Panthers only turned it over three times in the first 20 minutes.  

SECOND HALF: 

• The Warhawks cut the lead to seven early on, but a 6-0 run capped by a Sean Houpt corner three gave the Panthers a 52-39 lead.   
• Both teams kept going back and forth at each other, right after the second media timeout of the half Russell made two free throws to give Tech a 60-48 lead.  
• AUM hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six, but Houpt was clutch for the Panthers draining a contested three on the ensuing possession to push the lead back to 66-57. 
• Niall Harris drilled a 3-pointer for Tech at the top of the key to push the lead to 71-61 and force an AUM timeout with 4:12 remaining in the game. 
•  In the final four minutes, the Panthers limited mistakes and made free throws to clinch the 80-72 win.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS: 

• Sesan Russell scored 27 points to lead the Panthers on 7-of-18 shooting with three made shots from behind the arc. He also had six assists and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity strike.  
• Houpt made five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. The senior played the full 40 minutes. 
• Lagos scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in his second collegiate game.  
• Grant had 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, all of which was scored in the first half. 
• Elias Martin was a beast on the boards with 10 rebounds for Tech.   

COACHES CORNER: 
"For the second consecutive day, I am really impressed with how we opened up the game great defensively," said head coach Billy Mims. "This afternoon we came out and held a pretty doggone good AUM team to 34% shooting in the first half. The key to our offense was our defensive intensity and overall we shot the ball better today then we did yesterday." 

"We had some guys get to the free throw line and make big free throws for us. We also came up with some big blocked shots and big steals," Mims said. "We knew they would make a big run in the second half, but I thought our guys did a good job again of weathering the storm. As they fought back, we stepped up to another level." 

"Down the stretch Sean Houpt hit a couple of big threes, as well as Niall Harris," Mims said. "Then late in the ballgame you got to have the ball in the hands of someone like Sesan Russell because he went 10-for-10 at the line. We talk about how free throws win games and it was nice to see us convert down the stretch." 

"Elias Martin did a great job on the glass with 10 rebounds, as well as two assists, two blocks and three steals," Mims said. "I also thought our two young guys, Konstantinos Lagos and Sam Grant started the game off tremendously scoring 11 and 12 points in the first half. Their energy was big for the team." 

"We handled full-court pressure really well, we got the ball up the floor and made great decisions," Mims said. "I kept saying that we would go back and forth with them scoring and I thought if we could just maintain that 10 point lead into the final minute then we would be okay, and that's what we did.  

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE: 

• The Panthers shot 42.4% from the field (28-66) and 40% from the 3-point line (10-25). The Warhawks shot 42.4% from the field (25-59) and 27.8% behind the arc (5-18). 
• AUM outrebounded Florida Tech 44-33 and had 17 offensive rebounds to Tech's 12. 
• Both teams had similar free throw percentages with the Panthers at 73.7% (14-19) and the Warhawks at 73.9% (17-23). 
• Florida Tech forced 18 turnovers and only turned it over eight times. Assist wise, the Panthers had 14 while the Warhawks had just six.  

UP NEXT: Florida Tech will begin conference play Saturday, Nov. 19 at Saint Leo. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.