MIAMI SHORES, FLA. - Florida Tech traveled to Barry looking for the season sweep over the Bucs. It took more then 40 minutes, but the Panthers prevailed in a wild game that went to overtime.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:   
Final (OT): Florida Tech 76, Barry 74 
Records: Florida Tech (15-7, 8-6 SSC), Barry (7-11, 3-10 SSC)  
Location: Health and Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.   

  
FIRST HALF:   

• Sean Houpt found his shot early on with a triple and lay in to take a 7-6 lead.  
• Chase Thompson knocked down a three to give Tech a 13-11 lead with 10:48 left in the half. 
• A 10-0 scoring run for the Bucs gave them a 23-15 advantage. 
• A fast break lay. up while being fouled by Houpt, cut the Barry lead to six points. 
• The Bucs pushed their lead to 13 points, but the Panthers scored the final four points of the half to cut the lead to nine.  

SECOND HALF:   

• Barry scored the first points of the second half with a 3-pointer to push its lead to 12. 
• A 10-2 scoring run for the Panthers brought them back to within two points. This included a deep 3-pointer from Houpt as the shot clock expired.  
• Florida Tech tied the game at 55 on a tip in from Konstantinos Lagos off an offensive rebound. 
• Houpt knocked down three free throws after being fouled in the backcourt twice and the Panthers found themselves leading 60-58 with 3:59 remaining. 
• Lagos and Houpt each got tough shots to fall inside on consecutive possessions to give Tech a 64-58 advantage.  
• A 6-0 run for the Bucs tied the game with 37 seconds remaining.  
• A last second runner from Lagos fell short and the game was sent to overtime.  

OVERTIME: 

• A corner 3-pointer from Darragh O'Sullivan gave Tech a two-point lead with 3:25 remaining.  
• Barry tied the game back on a bucket inside with 1:16 left in the game. 
• Mekhii Noble knocked down 1-of-2 free throws with 59 seconds left to take the lead back. The Panthers retained possession with an offensive rebound.  
• Noble hit a left-handed hook shot then stole the ball on defense and took it himself for a breakaway dunk to give Tech a 76-71 advantage. 
• Barry hit a 3-pointer to get within two points and got the ball back with 7.8 seconds remaining. However, the Bucs final attempt at three to win the game missed to give Tech the win.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS:   

• Houpt scored a game-high 20 points. He also had six rebounds and three assists.  
• Noble tallied a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.  
• Elias Martin flirted with a double-double, tying a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds.  
• O'Sullivan played all 45 minutes and scored a career-high 13 points with three triples. He also had five rebounds and four assists.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:  

• The Panthers move to 30-46 all-time vs Barry. 
• Florida Tech shot 42% (26-62) from the field and 32% (6-19) from three. Barry was 40% (29-72) shooting and 30% (10-33) from behind the arc. 
• At the free-throw line, the Panthers were 75% (18-24) while the Buccaneers were 50% (6-12). 
• Florida Tech won the battle on the glass with a 45-37 rebound advantage.  
• The Panthers had 25 bench points and the Bucs had 16. 
• Florida Tech turned the ball over 17 times and dished out 10 assists. Barry had 10 turnovers and 12 assists.  

COACHES CORNER:
"What a tremendous effort by our team to bounce back after two really tough losses at home and travel on the road missing two starters and a couple key bench players," said Head Coach Billy Mims. "Every guy who dressed out to play tonight, even those who did not get in the game were a huge part of this success for how well they helped us prepare yesterday. We told the players the biggest key to success tonight was heart and the all the guys showed a lot of heart no matter what their role was during the game."

"Attitude is everything is how we left the locker room. That is what we said and that is how we played," Mims said. "We came to the locker room down nine, but what a reversal for the second half. In the final 20 minutes we stepped up our defense and held Barry on their home floor to just 27 points. When you don't have all your fire power in uniform, you have to defend and in the second half we defended our tails off. Rebounding wise we outrebounded them 45 to 37."

 "Individually, what a monster game from Mekhii Noble with 19 points and 11 rebounds, a double-double. He had timely buckets and was lethal at the free throw line, where he used to struggle at but has spent hours and hours getting better at for moments like tonight," Mims said. "Elias Martin was one rebound away from a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Our inside game tonight was certainly very strong."

"Sean Houpt hit one of the craziest shots I had ever seen, almost like Stephen Curry in a pregame warmup. One handed with a defender in his face as the shot clock was expiring. It was a big shot for us at the time, and he was once again a big player for us with 20 points," Mims said. "I also thought Darragh O'Sullivan had a nice game for us tonight as him and Sean both played the full 45 minutes. Sully was under a lot of ball pressure and showed a lot of character with the right mentality all-night long with 13 points and four assists."

"Defensively, Konstantinos Lagos made us better. He got out there and defended with everything he had," Mims said. "He had a chance to win the game for us in regulation, but couldn't get the shot to fall under a lot of contact. That didn't deter him or this team though."

"There is a stat that says the team who scores first in overtime wins. That did not hold true tonight after Barry hit a three on its opening possession," Mims said. "We could've dropped our heads and quit, but no we fought back and found a way to win. A-I-E, Attitude Is Everything."
 

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 4th for a road SSC matchup at Eckerd. Tip-off from St. Petersburg is scheduled for 5 p.m. 
  

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