LAKELAND, FLA. - Sitting by itself in second place in the Sunshine State Conference, Florida Tech paid a visit to third place Florida Southern. In a back-and-forth game, the Panthers did not get the shots to go at the end, ultimately falling 80-74. 
 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:  
Final: (RV) Florida Tech 74, Florida Southern 80 
Records: Florida Tech (14-5, 7-4 SSC), Florida Southern (13-5, 7-4 SSC) 
Location: George W. Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, Fla.  

 
FIRST HALF:  

• Florida Tech opened the game strong on a 10-2 run as Mekhii Noble, Sean Houpt and Elias Martin all got on the score sheet.  
• Houpt knocked down a contested triple to push Tech's lead to 13-4. However the Mocs responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to three points.  
• Houpt continued to look for his shot with another 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 17-13 lead with 7:54 left in the half.  
• A 3-pointer from Jadin Booth for the Mocs tied the game at 23. 
• Back-to-back inside shots from Noble gave the Panthers a 27-25 lead.  
• A layup from Dominick Denny for Southern with three seconds remaining in the half cut the Panthers lead to 34-33 at the break.  

SECOND HALF:  

• Southern scored the first four points of the half, before a 6-0 run gave Tech the lead back at 40-37. 
• Noble got his team fired up with an alley-oop dunk from a Sesan Russell pass to take a 44-41 lead.  
• An 8-2 run for the Mocs saw them retake the lead at 52-48. 
• Back-to-back layups from Niall Harris and Chase Thompson saw the Panthers move back in front at 58-55 with 9:27 remaining in the half.  
• The two teams continued to go blow-for-blow as Harris with an inside bucket tied the game at 64. 
• Booth knocked down a 3-pointer off a ball screen to give Southern a 74-69 lead with 1:40 remaining.  
• The Mocs made the free throws they needed to in the final minute to close out an 80-74 win. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:  

• Houpt was the leading scorer for either team with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting. 
• Noble recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.  
• Russell tallied a game-high 10 assists and scored six points.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: 

• The Panthers shot 42% (29-69) from the field and 19.2% (5-26) from three. The Mocs were 41.2% (28-68) from the field and 27.3% (6-22) from behind the arc.  
• At the free throw line, Tech was 84.6% (11-13). On the other hand, Southern shot 11 more free throws, but only shot it at 75% (18-24). 
• The Panthers won the rebound battle 44-41. 
• Tech had 16 assists and 15 turnovers while Southern dished out eight assists and turned it over 10 times. 
• The Panthers scored 44 points in the paint and held the Mocs to 26 points inside. 
• Florida Tech moves to 26-72 all-time against Florida Southern. 

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 25 for a home SSC matchup with Saint Leo. Tip-off from the Clemente Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

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