WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team powered its way to a 70-47 victory over UPR-Bayamon in its opening game of the PBA Thanksgiving Classic on Friday afternoon.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 70, UPR-Bayamon 47
Records: Florida Tech (4-0, 0-0 SSC), UPR-Bayamon (0-4, 0-0 DII Ind.)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
 
FIRST HALF:

• Niall Harris scored the first points of the game with a layup on the Panthers' opening possession.
• Sebastian Santiago answered with a three-point jumper for Bayamon which started a quick 7-0 run for the Cowboys to make it 7-2 at the 17:45 mark of the first half.
• Tech responded with a 15-2 run to retake the lead, 17-9, heading into the second media timeout of the half. During the run, Chase Thompson scored eight of the 15 points for the Panthers.
• The offense kept rolling for Tech out of the timeout. Elias Martin made a tough driving layup and on the next Panthers possession, Thompson knocked down the first triple of the game for Tech to make it 22-9 with 10:02 left in the half.
• The Cowboys stifled the run with a trey from Victor Carrillo to make it 25-12 just before the third media timeout.
• A layup by Max Polk sparked another run for the Panthers. During the 10-3 run, Rahsaan Edwards scored two baskets and assisted on two others to make it 35-15 with 3:21 remaining in the first half.
• The Panthers continued to dominate on both sides of the ball. Tech closed out the first half on an 8-2 run to head into halftime with a 43-17 lead. Max Polk scored six of the last eight points on 3-for-3 shooting.

 
SECOND HALF:

• Both teams traded baskets to begin the second half. A basket for Bayamon at the 17:35 mark by Marcos Velez made it 49-25 and capped an 8-6 effort for the Cowboys to start the half and force the Panthers to take an early timeout.
• Coming out of the timeout, a Harris layup and a driving dunk by David McCullough sparked an 8-0 to put Tech up 57-25 with 14:35 remaining in the game.
• Bayamon did not back down as they went on a run of their own, 14-4 over the next six minutes to cut into the Panthers' lead and make it 61-39 with 7:22 left on the clock.
• The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes and after a fast-break layup from Edwards, the Panthers found themselves up 67-43 heading into the final media timeout.
• The Cowboys added four more points at the charity stripe and Alex Kruska drained a three for Tech to give the game its final score of 70-47.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Niall Harris led the Panthers with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He also added five rebounds, five assists, and two steals to his line.
• Chase Thompson scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
• Rahsaan Edwards and David McCullough each chipped in nine points. Edwards added seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals while McCullough added nine rebounds and three blocks to his line.
• Max Polk scored eight points off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Panthers shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the floor, including 15.8 percent (3-for-19) from beyond the arc. Tech also added 19 assists and 14 steals.
• The Cowboys shot 30.4 percent (17-for-56) from the floor, including 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from three-point range.
• Florida Tech moves to 19-2 all-time against UPR-Bayamon. The Panthers avenged their 76-70 loss to the Cowboys from last season.
• 15 of the 19 wins have been by double digits, 11 of which have been by more than 20 points.
• This was the teams' first meeting on a neutral court since Nov. 19, 2007, in Orlando, Fla.

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will conclude the PBA Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow Saturday, Nov. 25 against UPR-Mayaguez. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Rubin Arena in West Palm Beach, Fla.
 
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