LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team fell to the Florida Southern Mocs in a midweek road Sunshine State Conference (SSC) game, 81-53, on Wednesday night in Lakeland.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 53, Florida Southern 81
Records: Florida Tech (15-9, 8-9 SSC), FSC (20-7, 14-4 SSC)
Location: George W. Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, Fla.
 
FIRST HALF:

• FSC started the game with a quick 6-0 run just over a minute in.
• Chase Thompson would get Tech on the board to make it 6-2 at the 18:24 mark, but the Mocs would come back with a 6-1 run to give them a 12-3 lead with 16 minutes to go in the half.
• A converted three-point play by David McCullough would cut the lead down to 14-8 with just under 14 minutes on the clock.
• Both teams would go back and forth for a few minutes until a 12-2 run by the Panthers, bookended by Elias Martin layups, would give Tech a 22-21 lead heading into the under eight-minute media timeout.
• FSC would come right back out of the timeout and knock down a three-point jumper to retake the lead, 24-21.
• That triple for the Mocs would start a 20-6 run over the final six minutes of the half to take a 44-27 lead into halftime.

 
SECOND HALF:

• FSC began the second half with an 8-0 run to extend the lead out to 52-27 with 18:32 to play.
• A 6-2 run for Tech, highlighted by two baskets from Rahsaan Edward, cut the deficit down to 54-33.
• After a few minutes of both teams trading shots, a Panther layup by Stephen Merritt made it a 62-39 game halfway through the period.
• The Mocs used a 6-0 run to extend the lead, but Tech came back with two free throws from Can Kaan Turgut and a layup by Manos Dimou to make it a 68-43 game with 8:49 to play.
• Three layups from Trent Jones and a triple by Luke Anderson gave FSC its largest lead of the night, 77-43.
• An 8-2 run for the Panthers, capped by a two-point jumper from Darragh O'Sullivan made it a 79-51 game with under two minutes to go.
• Both teams added one more basket each in the waning moments of the game to give it a final score of 81-53.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Florida Tech moves to 27-73 all-time against FSC, including 10-37 all-time on the road in Lakeland.
• The Mocs have won the last seven games in Lakeland against Tech.

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will travel to Saint Leo for its final road game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Saint Leo, 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.