MELBOURNE, Fla. – In what was their biggest game of the season so far, the Panthers played their best game of the season, leading from start to finish to upset defending national champion Nova Southeastern, 90-80, in front of a spirited Clemente Center crowd on Saturday evening.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: RV Florida Tech 90, #3 Nova Southeastern 80
Records: Florida Tech (11-3, 4-3 SSC), Nova Southeastern (12-2, 6-2 SSC)
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.

FIRST HALF:

• The Panthers opened the scoring on their third possession as David McCullough took a great pass from Niall Harris and converted it with an up and under layup.
• After a McCullough three extended Tech's lead to five, the Sharks broke through with a three of their own, courtesy of Mike Moore.
• Florida Tech countered with an 11-0 run, which was kickstarted with a Harris triple and a Rahsaan Edwards jumper.
• The run continued through an Elias Martin free throw, a three from Chase Thompson and a Martin layup.
• Shane Hunter broke the Sharks' five-minute scoring drought with a coast-to-coast layup at the 11-minute mark.
• Layups by Isaiah Fuller and MJ Iraldi brought the Sharks within seven before an Edwards three to beat the shot clock just shy of the eight-minute mark.
• The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes with NSU never getting closer than eight points.
• With just over a minute remaining in the half, the Crimson and Gray used their defense to their advantage when following a missed layup, McCullough's steal in the backcourt created an easy layup for Edwards to give Tech a 16-point lead, which matched their largest lead of the half.
• Ryker Cisarik's layup through traffic was completed at the line for a three-point with 15 seconds remaining.
• Edwards would be fouled with a second on the clock and with the Panthers in the double bonus, he converted both to give Florida Tech a 42-27 lead going into the locker room.

SECOND HALF:

• The Sharks opened the half on an 8-3 run with the aid of their full court press.
• Elias Martin's three-point play at the 16:57 mark helped to stem the tide.
• A 9-0 run capped by McCullough corner three followed by an Edwards fast break layup with 13:09 to go gave The Crimson and Gray their largest lead of the game at 59-39.
• NSU broke their scoring drought of over three minutes thanks to a Trey Doomes layup at 11:58.
• Harris' corner three with 9:15 to go helped break a 6-2 Shark spurt and extend the Panther lead back to 19.
• NSU would outscore Florida Tech 14-7 over the next four and a half minutes to draw within 71-59 with 4:41 left.
• Following a pair of made free throws by McCullough, Ryan Davis would reel off five straight points over consecutive possessions to bring the Sharks within single digits with four minutes remaining.
• Chase Thompson scored out of the media timeout and a McCullough steal led to an Edwards layup to restore the margin to 13.
• A Ryan Walsh three and a pair of Cisarik free throws shrunk the Crimson and Gray lead to eight with 3:04 on the clock.
• Elias Martin came up with a critical block of a Fuller layup attempt with 2:41 remaining for his fourth swat of the game.
• A Doomes putback layup with two minutes remaining brought the margin to 77-72, the closest the Sharks had been since the game's first five minutes.
• On the Panthers' next possession, Harris hit the biggest shot of the game, a three from the top of the key to give Florida Tech some much needed breathing room.
• A huge stop on the defensive end would spring Edwards free for a fast break layup to push the advantage back to double digits with 1:16 to go.
• With NSU needing to foul in order to extend the possibility of a comeback, the game would need to be won at the free throw line and the Panthers would do just that, going six for six at the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the victory.

NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Tonight's players of the game, presented by Sonny's BBQ, was given to the starting five of Rahsaan Edwards, Niall Harris, Elias Martin, David McCullough and Chase Thompson, all of whom played at least 35 minutes.
• Edwards led the Panthers in scoring with a season-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting along with four assists and four rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
• McCullough posted 22 points, the sixth time this season he's scored 20 or more, to go with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
• Harris contributed 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. In doing so, he became the 17th player in program history to grab 500 career rebounds. Harris also dished a team-high five assists.
• Thompson added 13 points on 6-11 shooting, reaching double figures in scoring for the 10th consecutive game.
• Martin provided 10 points on 3-4 shooting to go with five rebounds, five blocks and three assists.
   

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech leads the all-time series 38-27.
• This was the Panthers' first victory over the Sharks since an 85-76 triumph on February 24, 2018 at the Clemente Center.
• This was Tech's first win over a Top 5 opponent since an 88-72 victory over #4 Barry on February 18, 2015.
• Florida Tech are now 21-11 all-time at home against Nova Southeastern.

UP NEXT: Florida Tech will next play on Wednesday, Jan. 17 when the Panthers travel to Tampa for a midweek conference matchup with the Spartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 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.