DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Tech Panthers hit the road Friday night to take on North Greenville in the Embry-Riddle Classic. While the Crimson and Gray kept it close through three quarters, a stretch of free throws in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for UNG, who emerged victorious, 66-50.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 50, North Greenville 66
Records: Florida Tech (3-5, 0-0 SSC), North Greenville (5-1, 0-0 GSC)
Location:  ICI Center | Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
FIRST QUARTER:

• Both teams started off with a hot start from the field, with North Greenville leading 7-6 just three minutes in.
• The Panthers took the opening points in the game, scoring off a layup from Dalma Ehmann.
• Abi Oates of UNG drained a three-pointer to give the Crusaders the lead, 5-4, with 8:12 to go.
• Florida Tech would find itself trailing by its largest deficit of the quarter, down six with 1:18 to go in the first, after Oates sunk another three.
• Back-to-back jumpers by Kyandra Poitier closed the gap, with the Crusaders holding just a two-point lead going into the second.

 
SECOND QUARTER:

• Tech opens the second with a jumper by Tai Roberts to make it a tied ball game.
• Lina Stranger-Johannessen takes the lead back for Tech as Poitier gets the defensive rebound and pushes the ball up to Stranger-Johannessen for the made jumper. Panthers lead 19-17 with 7:42 to go.
• With two consecutive threes from UNG, the Panthers gave up the lead and were forced to take a timeout. 6:20 to go.
• After trading points, with 2:54 remaining, Tech ties it up thanks to a made layup by Poitier and a jumper from Roberts.
• UNG makes the layup to end the quarter and once again leads by two.  

THIRD QUARTER:

• Florida Tech came out of the break with some momentum, going on a 9-1 run to take their largest lead, 34-28, thanks to four points by Poitier, a layup from Emily Acampora, and an Olivia Stephens three.
• The Crusaders took a 9-1 run to take back the lead with 3:27 left in the third.
• A Sarah Liberatore free throw ties it back up before teams traded points, closing out the third tied 40-40.

FOURTH QUARTER:

• The Crusaders opened the final quarter with a 7-2 run to begin to pull away from Tech.
• Stranger-Johannessen converted a layup to cut the deficit to three before UNG scored five to make it an eight-point game and keep the Panthers at length for the remainder of the game.
• Free throws proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome, netting 12 free throws over the final four minutes.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Kyandra Poitier posted a double-double with 16 points on 8-12 shooting and 12 rebounds. She also added a steal.
• Tai Roberts followed with 10 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.
• Olivia Stephens grabbed five rebounds while adding five points, two steals, and one block.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• This was the first meeting between the two teams.
• Tech finished the game shooting 37.5% (21-56) from the field, 9.1% (1-11) from beyond the arc, and 35% (7-20) on free throws.
• North Greenville shot 37.8% (17-45) in the contest, 58.3% (7-12) from the three-point range, and 86.2% (25-29) from the line.
• Florida Tech held a slight advantage in rebounds (39-31), points in the paint (26-18), second-chance points (11-7), and bench points (19-17).

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 25, to take on Flagler in the Embry-Riddle Classic. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
 
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