SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team fell to Saint Leo in the Panthers' final regular season road game on Saturday night in Saint Leo, Fla.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 65, Saint Leo 67
Records: Florida Tech (15-10, 8-10 SSC), Saint Leo (10-16, 5-13 SSC)
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
 
FIRST HALF:

• Both teams traded baskets to begin the game. A triple from Rahsaan Edwards was matched by Saint Leo's Joseph Locandro to tie the game at 5-5 just under two minutes in.
• Back-to-back scores by the Lions put them up 9-5 with 17:05 on the clock.
• A converted three-point play from David McCullough dunk put Tech on top 10-9 two minutes later.
• Both teams would go back and forth for the next few minutes and a Saint Leo layup kept the Lions within one, 16-15, at the 10-minute mark of the half.
• After another converted three-point play by McCullough, a three-point jumper and a layup gave Saint Leo a 22-21 lead with 7:46 on the clock.
• A dunk from Elias Martin gave the lead back to the Panthers and sparked a 12-0 run over the next several minutes to give Tech a 33-22 lead with just under three minutes until halftime.
• Both teams added a few more baskets down the stretch and the Panthers took a 35-28 lead into halftime.

 
SECOND HALF:

• After some back and forth to start the second half, Tech rattled off a 9-0 run capped off by a Niall Harris dunk to take a 49-28 lead with 16:04 on the clock.
• Saint Leo answered right back with 13-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead down to 49-41.
• Max Polk would knock down a triple for the Panthers to stifle the run and the back and forth continued. A layup by Martin gave Tech a 58-48 lead with 8:05 to go.
• A layup and a three-point jumper for the Lions cut the lead down to 58-53.
• A McCullough block on the defensive end led to a fast-break layup for Polk to put the Panthers up seven, 60-53 with 4:11 left on the clock.
• Eight straight unanswered points gave Saint Leo a 61-60 lead with just over a minute remaining.
• Another layup from Martin on the next Panther possession put Tech back on top 62-61 with 41 seconds to go.
• The Lions answered on their next possession with a triple to go up 64-62 with 25 seconds left.
• After a missed three-point attempt, Tech was forced to put the Lions at the line. Kanon Koster knocked down both free throws to go up 66-62 with 16 seconds on the clock.
• On the next Panther possession, Thompson would get fouled on a three-point attempt and make all three free throws to make it a 66-65 game with 12 seconds left.
• Back at the charity stripe, Koster would go one-for-two to go up 67-65 with just four seconds to go.
• The Panthers would get a last-second shot off to try and win the game, but the attempt did not fall through and the game ended with a final score of 67-65.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Elias Martin and Chase Thompson each scored 14 points. Martin added four rebounds, four blocks, and one steal to his line. Thompson also brought it four boards and dished out one assist.
• David McCullough scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out six assists.
• Rahsaan Edwards scored eight points, hauled in eight rebounds, stole the ball five times and handed out four assists.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 48-66 all-time against Saint Leo, including a 13-32 record on the road against the Lions.
• Niall Harris' streak of at least five rebounds per game came to an end at 29 games.

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will return to the confines of the Clemente Center and host Eckerd on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Melbourne, Fla.
 
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