MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Tech hosted Palm Beach Atlantic looking for its 10th conference win of the year. The Panthers played another tight ball game but were defeated at the buzzer by the Sailfish.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:   
Final: Florida Tech 77, Palm Beach Atlantic 80 
Records: Florida Tech (16-9, 9-8 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic (12-11, 8-9 SSC) 
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.   

  
FIRST HALF:   

• Sesan Russell drilled a 3-pointer to give the Panthers an 8-5 advantage early on.  
• Halfway through the opening period, a layup from Sam Grant tied the game at 20.  
• Jalen Cooper for PBA made his presence known inside and gave it a 29-25 lead with a bucket in the paint.  
• A 3-pointer from Ryan Claflin for PBA gave it a 39-31 lead with 3:24 remaining in the half.  
• The Panthers ended the half strongly, using a 10-1 run to take a 41-40 lead into the break.  

SECOND HALF:   

• A 6-0 run for PBA once the game restarted gave it the lead back. 
• A bucket for Sam Grant and a 3-pointer from Sean Houpt saw Tech take a 57-52 lead. 
• A corner triple from Darragh O'Sullivan kept Tech's five point advantage with 9:01 remaining in the game.  
• O'Sullivan hit another triple to push the Panthers lead to 69-59. 
• A 15-6 scoring run for PBA saw it come within one point of Tech's lead.  
• A 3-pointer from Cooper gave the Sailfish a 77-75 lead. 
• Niall Harris drilled two free throws to tie the game at 77 with six seconds left.  
• Will Lee for PBA hit a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team the win.  

NOTABLE PANTHERS:   

• Grant scored a career-high 24 points off the bench on 10-of-14 shooting. 
• Houpt was also in double figures with 15 points. 
• After missing four games with an injury, Russell returned to the lineup with 12 points and six assists.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:  

• The Panthers drop to 25-18 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic. 
• Florida Tech shot 46.7% (28-60) from the field and 30.8% (8-26) from the 3-point line. PBA was 56.3% (27-48) shooting and 69.2% (9-13) from behind the arc.  
• At the free throw line, the Panthers shot 86.7% (13-15) while the Sailfish 85% (17-20). 
• PBA outrebounded Tech 31-21. 
• Florida Tech had 11 turnovers and forced 19 turnovers by PBA. 
• The Panthers had 19 assists while the Sailfish had 11. 

UP NEXT: Florida Tech returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15 for a road SSC matchup with Embry-Riddle. Tip-off from Daytona Beach is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 
  

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