DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's basketball team traveled to Daytona Beach for the quarterfinal round of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Tournament, but fell to third-seeded Embry-Riddle Eagles, 75-61, on Tuesday night.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 61, Embry-Riddle 75
Records: Florida Tech (16-12, 9-11 SSC), Embry-Riddle (21-8, 14-6 SSC)
Location: ICI Center | Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
FIRST HALF:

• Florida Tech came out with two quick baskets from David McCullough to go up 4-0 quickly, but ERAU would come back with a triple to make it 4-3 just over a minute into the game.
• A minute later, another three-point jumper for the Eagles tied the game at 6-6.
• A 7-2 run for the Eagles gave them a 13-8 lead at the 14-minute mark of the half.
• A tough layup from Rahsaan Edwards on the next Panther possession brought Tech within three, 13-10.
• Both teams went back and forth for a few minutes, but another three-point jumper for ERAU put them on top, 23-16, with nine minutes left in the first half.
• The Eagles continued to extend their lead, but a jumper from Max Polk at the 6:11 mark brought the Panthers within 10, 27-18.
• ERAU rattled off a 12-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 39-22 lead with just over a minute on the clock.
• Both teams added a few points over the closing moments of the half to head into the halftime locker rooms with a score of 41-24 in favor of the Eagles.

 
SECOND HALF:

• Both offenses came out ready to play as each team traded shots for the first four minutes of the half to make it a 48-31 game heading into the first media timeout.
• A 10-2 run for ERAU put the Eagles up 58-33 with 13:21 on the clock.
• Three straight three-point jumpers for Tech from McCullough, Edwards, and Darragh O'Sullivan brought the lead down to 66-46 halfway through the period.
• Both defenses locked in for the next several minutes. A converted three-point play and a layup by Edwards made it a 69-53 game at the 3:44 mark.
• Coming out of the final media timeout, ERAU added two points from a pair of free throws, but Edwards stayed hot and made another basket to make it 71-55 with just over three minutes to play.
• After a second chance layup for the Eagles, Edwards would convert another three-point play to cut the lead to 73-58 with 1:23 to go.
• Both teams would trade a few more shots and baskets in the final possessions of the game to give it a final score of 75-61 in favor of the Eagles.

 
NOTABLE PANTHERS:

• Rahsaan Edwards finished with a team-high 19 points.
• David McCullough scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
• Elias Martin continued his defensive dominance in the SSC with three blocks and a steal.
• Niall Harris did a little bit of every as usual and finished with seven points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and one block.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 9-13 all-time against ERAU.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the schools in the SSC Tournament.
• The Panthers move to 12-35 all-time in the SSC Tournament, including 1-11 all-time on the road during the Tournament.

 
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