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Florida Tech Panthers

Sean
62
Palm Beach Atl. PBA 14-13,10-10 Sunshine State
77
Winner Florida Tech FT 19-10,11-9 Sunshine State
Palm Beach Atl. PBA
14-13,10-10 Sunshine State
62
Final
77
Florida Tech FT
19-10,11-9 Sunshine State
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Palm Beach Atl. PBA 22 40 62
Florida Tech FT 45 32 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Will Thornhill

Panthers Defeat PBA, Advance to SSC Semifinals

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Tech began its postseason run by hosting Palm Beach Atlantic in the first round of the SSC Tournament. The No. 4 seeded Panthers brought their best effort from the tip to the final buzzer as it cruised to a 77-62 win over the No. 5 seeded Sailfish. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:   
Final: Florida Tech 77, Palm Beach Atlantic 62 
Records: Florida Tech (19-10, 11-9 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic (14-13, 10-10 SSC) 
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla. 

  
FIRST HALF:   

  • A 3-pointer from Sesan Russell gave Tech a 5-2 lead early on. 
  • Sean Houpt found Mekhii Noble for an alley-oop to get the crowd going and give his team a 12-7 advantage. 
  • Another dunk from Noble pushed the Panthers lead to 19-12. 
  • Chase Thompson drilled a 3-pointer right when he entered into the game to give Tech a 25-14 lead with 8:08 remaining.
  • An 11-2 scoring run for the Panthers pushed their lead to 36-19. 
  • Another triple from Thompson gave the Panthers a 21-point lead.  
  • Sean Houpt got a contested jumper to go as the first half buzzer that gave Tech a 45-22 at the break. 

SECOND HALF:   

  • PBA battled tough with the Panthers in the first few minutes as a old-fashioned 3-point play for Jalon Cooper cut the lead to 50-31. 
  • Harris responded with a bucket while getting fouled to push the lead back to 22 points. 
  • Darragh O'Sullivan knocked down a triple then threw down a fast break dunk to give the Panthers a 60-36 lead with 10:38 remaining. 
  • After Tech pushed its lead to 28, PBA responded with a 8-0 run. 
  • Thompson hit his third triple of the day as the shot clock expired as the Panthers took a 69-46 advantage. 
  • Four consecutive free throws from Houpt pushed the Panthers lead to 75-50. 
  • The Sailfish ended the game on a 8-1 run, but it was too little, too late as Tech took home a commanding victory. 

NOTABLE PANTHERS:   

  • Houpt scored a team-high 24 points ono 7-of-19 shooting. In the first half, Houpt scored his 1,000th career-point at Tech. 
  • Harris recorded his third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds.  
  • Russell was also in double-figures for the Panthers with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. 
  • Noble had six points and 10 rebounds.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:  

  • Florida Tech moves to 26-18 all-time against PBA.
  • The Panthers shot 41.5% (27-65) from the field and 36.4% (8-22) from the 3-point line. The Sailfish was 30.8% (20-65) shooting and 10.5% (2-19) from behind the arc. 
  • At the free throw line, Tech was 71.4% (15-21) while PBA was 80% (20-25). 
  • The Panthers won the rebound battle 51-35. 
  • Tech had 17 bench points and PBA had 10.  
  • The Panthers dished out 18 assists while the Sailfish had 12. 

Coach Billy Mims postgame show presented by Health First 

UP NEXT: The Panthers will play the No. 1 ranked team in the country, Nova Southeastern, in the SSC Semifinals Thursday, March 2nd. Tip-off from Fort Lauderdale is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech men's basketball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

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