MELBOURNE, FLA. - For its second Sunshine State Conference game, Florida Tech hosted Tampa. The Panthers took care of business in a defensive battle, taking home the 65-59 win.  

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:  
Final: Florida Tech 65, Tampa 59 
Records: Florida Tech (6-1 2-0 SSC), Tampa (1-5, 1-1 SSC) 
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.  

 
FIRST HALF:  

• The Panthers came out strong with a 6-0 run early on including a Niall Harris breakaway dunk to begin the game.  
• The Spartans weathered the early storm tying the game at nine with 13:55 remaining on a jumper. 
• The Panthers lead was back up to six at 17-11 after Sean Houpt made a contested layup. 
• Tampa responded with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game with five minutes left in the half.  
• Tech's own 7-0 run pushed its lead back to six, capped off by a Sesan Russell layup. 
• After a missed 3-pointer on its final possession of the half, the Panthers found themselves up 26-22 at the break.  
• Both teams shot 32% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Tech and Tampa were a combined 3-23 from the 3-point line.  

SECOND HALF:  

• Back-to-back transition buckets from Russell gave Tech a 32-25 lead.  
• The Panthers went cold offensively, not scoring for over four minutes as the Spartans tied the game at 32.  
• That scoring drought ended on a huge 3-pointer from Houpt and an old-fashioned 3-point play on the next possession from Houpt to give Tech a 38-33 lead.  
• Another bucket plus the foul, this time from Russell gave the Panthers a 45-38 lead with 7:51 remaining.  
• Making shots while being fouled became a theme for Tech, as Russell converted another one to push the Panthers lead to 52-42. 
• A 7-0 run for Tampa made it a one possession game with under three minutes remaining.  
• A tough bucket from Houpt gave the Panthers a 5-point lead with just over a minute left in the game. 
• With the lead back down to three, Houpt called his own number again driving the lane and knocking down a layup to ice the game.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS:  

• Houpt was the leading scorer for the Panthers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting. The senior was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.  
• Another key player for Tech was Russell with 24 points. He scored 17 of his 24 in the second half. He also had six assists and five rebounds.  
• Elias Martin impacted the game inside with six rebounds and six blocks.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: 

• Florida Tech moves to 30-58 all-time against Tampa.
• The Panthers shot 37.3% (26-69) and a season low 13.8% (4-29) from three. The Spartans were 35.1% (20-57) from the field and 33.3% (6-18) from behind the arc.  
• From the free throw line Tech was 64.3% (9-14) while Tampa was 72.2% at (13-18). 
• The Spartans out-rebounded the Panthers 51-33. 
• Despite struggling to score at times, Tech turned the ball over just five times and forced 17 Tampa turnovers.

Coach Billy Mims postgame presented by e-Tech Services 

UP NEXT: Florida Tech will be back in action on Saturday, December 3rd on the road at Lynn for an SSC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

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