MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team opened the Sunshine State Conference portion of the 2023-24 schedule at home on Tuesday night at the Clemente Center against Rollins. Thanks to a first half where the Panthers seemingly could not miss, the Crimson and Gray cruised to a 23-point victory, continuing their unbeaten start to the season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Florida Tech 96, Rollins 73
Records: Florida Tech (6-0, 1-0 SSC), Rollins (3-3, 0-1 SSC)
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center| Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST HALF:

• Braxton Barnhizer gave Rollins the first lead of the game just over a minute in with a three from the top of the key.
• After a Niall Harris free throw got the Panthers on the board, Barnhizer fired another triple before Tech would respond with consecutive treys from Chase Thompson and Rahsaan Edwards to put Tech in front 7-6.
• Barnhizer and Thompson traded threes on consecutive possessions, putting Florida Tech in front again, 10-9.
• Tech would push the lead to 14-11 at the first media timeout thanks to a Thompson putback and a thunderous dunk from David McCullough.
• The Crimson and Gray would move the margin to seven points over the next five minutes thanks to five from McCullough, three from Edwards and two from Harris.
• Cade Long chipped in a three and a pair of free throws on consecutive possessions to shrink the deficit to two.
• Manos Dimou and Max Polk provided an instant spark off the bench, combining to hit from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions to give Florida Tech a 35-24 advantage at the 7:37 mark.
• An Edwards layup and McCullough jumper kept Florida Tech in front by seven with just under five minutes left in the half.
• The Panthers headed into the locker room with a 52-36 lead thanks to a 13-4 run over the final 3:48 of the half that was kickstarted by an Elias Martin three-point play and highlighted by another McCullough dunk, this time on a fast break.
• For the half, the Crimson and Gray shot 66.7% (20-30) from the field, 52.9% (9-17) from deep and 75% (3-4) at the charity stripe.

SECOND HALF:

• Tech continued where they left off as McCullough powered his way through the paint for a layup on the opening possession.
• An Edwards three plus layups from McCullough and Thompson would see the Panther lead reach 19 at the 17:02 mark.
• A 5-0 run provided solely by Kyle Marion brought the Tars to within 14.
• Florida Tech responded with two free throws from Martin, a McCullough layup on phenomenal feed from Edwards and a Harris layup created from a Rollins turnover to extend the lead to a game-high 20.
• Threes from Edwards on back-to-back possessions proved to be the knockout shot as the Panthers lead extended to 73-49 with 11:55 remaining.
• Rollins continued to show fight, bringing the deficit to within 17 and holding the Crimson and Gray scoreless for nearly four minutes before a pair of Martin free throws halted the drought.
• Harris' steal and coast-to-coast layup with 5:51 to go broke a six and a half minute spell without a field goal to put Tech ahead 80-61.
• Florida Tech would keep Rollins beyond arm's length the rest of the way, never leading by less than 15 points.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Rahsaan Edwards was tonights Player of the Game presented by Brevard Law after he posted a team-high 22 points, his second game with 20 points this season, along with five assists and two steals.
• David McCullough led the way for Florida Tech by contributing a season-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting, five blocks, five rebounds and two steals.
• Chase Thompson added 14 points, six rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals
• Elias Martin formed a great tandem in post with McCullough as he poured in 11 points, including a perfect seven for seven at the free throw line, and seven rebounds.
• Niall Harris did a little bit of everything as usual, chipping with seven points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Rollins leads the all-time series 34-69.
• This was Tech's first win at home vs. Rollins since a 90-75 victory on November 30, 2016.
• The Panthers are 15-31 at home vs. the Tars since 1976.
• Tech finished the game shooting 56% (34-61) from the field, 45.5% (15-33) from beyond the arc, and a season-best 87% (13-15) on free throws.
• The Tars shot 48.3% (28-58) in the contest, 43.8% (7-16) from the three-point range, and 91% (10-11) at the line.
• Florida Tech held the advantage in rebounds (32-25), points in the paint (34-30), fast break points (23-2), second chance points (13-11), bench points (21-14) and points off turnovers (21-16).
• The Crimson and Gray's nine blocks as a team were the most since March 3, 2021, when they swatted 10 Palm Beach Atlantic shots.
   

UP NEXT: The Panthers will return to the court this Saturday, December 2nd for an SSC matchup with Saint Leo. Tip-off is set for 4:00 P.M.
 

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