MELBOURNE, FLA. – Florida Tech gets their first win of the Season against UPR-Bayamon, defeating the Cowboys 87-65.

FINAL: Florida Tech 87, UPR – Bayamon 65
Records: Florida Tech (1-3, 0-1 SSC) UPR (0-6)
Locations: Clemente Center | Melbourne, FL

STATS OF THE MATCH:

First Half:

• Xavier Ford-Belton would get the scoring going for Tech with a layup followed by a Max Polk layup to take the first lead of the game over the Cowboys, 4-0.
• The teams would stay close in battle over the course of the first six minutes, tied at 10-10.
• Max Polk would look to change that with a one-man coast-to-coast trip and scoring a layup to start a run for the Panthers.
• Tech would grow their lead to six, which it would stay at until the seven-minute mark when the Panthers would catch fire.
• A barrage of baskets from Elhadji "ET" Thiam, Donovan Brown, Can Kaan Turgut, Manos Dimou, and AJ Lieuwen would carry the Panthers to a huge lead, now up 20 points, 46-26.
• The Panthers would finish the half out with a (7-0) run over the last 90 seconds as they would be up big at the break, Donovan Murphy would get a layup with one second left to take a 51-26 lead.

 
Second Half:

• The Cowboys would not go down without a fight as they would not miss to start the second half.
• A 25-point lead would be erased as Tech's lead would go from 25 to a single-digit eight points in eight minutes, a scene the Panthers are all too familiar with this season.
• A layup by Xavier Ford-Belton would stop the bleeding there as the Panthers would then finally get their offense going.
• Elhadji Thiam would lead the Panthers in the second half, scoring 12 and grabbing four boards to lead Tech back to a huge lead of 21.
• Tech would hold the Cowboys scoreless for three minutes in the process and put their bench in with two minutes to play and go on to win, 87-65.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Donovan Brown led the Panthers in scoring with 19 points.
• Elhadji "ET" Thiam had his best game of the season posting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• All-time vs. Puerto Rico-Bayamon: 20-2.
• Tech is now 17-2 at home vs. the Cowboys.

 
UP NEXT:
The Panthers will have a quick turnaround hosting North Greenville University tomorrow, 1:30pm at the Clemente Center, looking to go 2-0 on the weekend.

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.