MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team fell to Palm Beach Atlantic, 75-74, in a contest that needed all 40 minutes to be decided on Wednesday night at the Clemente Center.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 25 Florida Tech 74, Palm Beach Atlantic 75
Records: Florida Tech (9-2, 2-2 SSC), PBA (9-4, 3-2 SSC)
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
 
FIRST HALF:

• PBA jumped out to a quick 4-0 run with baskets from Jamaal Walker and Grant Ledford.
• Both teams traded shots over the next few minutes before David McCullough knotted the game back up at 7-7 for the Panthers with a fast-break layup at the 15:17 mark of the first half.
• A dunk by McCullough put Tech up 15-14 with 12:02 on the clock.
• A few minutes later, Rahsaan Edwards was fouled on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three shots to tie the game at 20-20 with 10:25 remaining in the half.
• A quick 6-2 run for the Panthers highlighted by two tough baskets from Elhadji Thiam put Tech up 26-24 heading into the under-eight-minute media timeout.
• With the game tied at 28-28, a converted three-point play, a monster dunk, and two more free throws from McCullough put the Panthers up 35-28 heading into the final media timeout of the half.
• Tech rattled off an 8-3 run over the last few minutes of the half, but a last-second half-court shot by Will Lee cut the Panthers' lead down to 45-40 heading into halftime.

 
SECOND HALF:

• Both teams struggled offensively to start the second half and Tech took a 51-45 lead into the first media timeout.
• Ledford converted a three-point play for PBA to cut the lead down to 51-48 with 15:30 on the clock.
• The Panthers responded with a 9-0 run capped by three baskets in a row by Max Polk to extend the lead out to 60-48 and force PBA to take a timeout with just over 12 minutes remaining.
• Chase Thompson converted a three-point play following the timeout to extend the run to 12-0.
• PBA answered with a 16-2 run to bring the game within one, 65-64, with 6:34 left in the game.
• A tough layup by Edwards at the 5:10 mark stifled the Sailfish run for Tech, but two made free throws on the opposite by Micah Jones kept PBA within one, 67-66.
• A Sailfish jumper tied the game at 68-68, but Tech came right back with a fast-break dunk from McCullough to make it 70-68 with just under three minutes left on the clock.
• Both teams traded baskets over the last few minutes, but a PBA layup tied the game at 74-74 with 7.9 seconds left on the clock.
• In the final Sailfish possession of the game, Trent McNair was fouled with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. He knocked down one of his two free throws to take the lead.
• On the rebound, Niall Harris chucked up the half-court shot but it was too strong, and the game ended with a final score of 75-74.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Tonight's player of the game, presented by Revolution Technologies, was David McCullough. McCullough scored a game-high 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds, and recorded three blocks.
• Elias Martin scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, hauled in five boards, and blocked the ball four times.
• Rahsaan Edwards scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out eight assists.
• Chase Thompson added 11 points.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech shot 46.2 percent (30-for-65) from the floor, including 6.7 percent (1-for-15) from beyond the arc, and 65 percent (13-for-20) from the free throw line.
• PBA shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the floor, including 40 percent (6-for-15) from three-point range, and 88.2 percent (15-for-17) from the free throw line.
• Tech moves to 26-19 all-time against PBA.

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will next play on Saturday, Jan. 6 when the Panthers host Florida Southern for a weekend conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Clemente Center in Melbourne, Fla.
 
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.