MELBOURNE, FLA. - The Panthers have been a defensive team all season, but on Wednesday night they found themselves in a high scoring affair with Barry. Tech led most of the game and just held off a late Barry run to win 96-95 and pick up its fifth SSC win of the season.  

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:  
Final: Florida Tech 96, Barry 95 
Records: Florida Tech (12-3, 5-2 SSC), Barry (6-5, 2-4 SSC) 
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center| Melbourne, Fla.  

 
FIRST HALF:  

• Barry came out strong offensively making four of its first five attempts from the field to take a 9-5 lead.  
• Back-to-back dunks from Mekhii Noble and Sean Houpt, then a breakaway lay in from Sesan Russell gave Tech the lead at 15-14. 
• After a 3-pointer from Houpt pushed its scoring run to 14-2, Tech saw itself go up 23-16. 
• The Panthers lead reached double-digits at 30-19 on a put back lay up from Noble with 11:07 remaining in the half. 
• Back-to-back inside buckets from James Montgomery for Barry, cut Tech's lead to seven at the under-eight media timeout. 
• Teams traded points for the next five minutes as one made free throw from Chase Thompson pushed the Panthers lead to 46-39.  
• A bucket and a 3-pointer from Houpt put the Panthers lead back to double-digits at 51-39. 
• Right before the halftime buzzer, Malik Stanley drilled a triple for the Bucs to cut the lead to 53-45.

SECOND HALF:  

• The Panthers returned their lead to double-digits at 61-50 on a 3-pointer from Russell then a baseline lay in from Can Kaan Turgut. 
• An 8-2 run for Barry quickly cut Florida Tech's lead to 63-58. 
• Five straight points from Houpt saw Tech lead 72-64 with 10 minutes remaining, but Barry responded right back with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to three points.  
• A tough jumper from Russell pushed the Panthers lead to six points with six minutes remaining. 
• Barry continued to battle, cutting the lead to two points with a triple from Williams. 
• When they needed it most the Panthers went on a 6-0 run behind a deep 3-pointer from Houpt and a triple from Chase Thompson to take a nine-point lead. 
• After an 8-0 run for Barry, the Tech lead was back down to just one point with under a minute left. 
• Houpt made two free throws, then the Panthers got their biggest stop of the night to get the ball back with under 10 seconds left. 
• Houpt went back to the line and made 1-of-2 attempts to put the Panthers up four and secure the win despite the Bucs hitting a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:  

• Houpt led the Panthers with a career-high 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The senior made six triples on the night. 
• Russell tallied 19 points and dished out 12 assists for a double-double.  
• Noble was the last Panther in double-figures having scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. 
• Harris was the Panthers leading rebounder with seven boards to go along with his eight points.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: 

• The Panthers shot 52.3% (34-65) from the field and 44% (11-25) from three. The Bucs were 62.5% (35-56) shooting and 55% (11-20) from behind the arc. 
• At the free throw line, Tech shot 73.9% (17-23) while Barry shot 73.7% (14-19). 
• For the game the rebound battle was almost even with Tech edging out Barry 29-28. 
• Florida Tech turned the ball over 12 times and forced 20 turnovers on defense. 
• Barry had 24 assists while Tech had 23 assists.  
• The Panthers led for 34:51 of game time.  
• Florida Tech moves to 28-46 all-time versus Barry.

Coach Billy Mims postgame show presented by Long Doggers  

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Saturday Jan. 7 for a road SSC matchup at Palm Beach Atlantic. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. 

For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech men's basketball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.