Melbourne, Florida – Florida Tech men's hoops was back at home this evening to take on No. 12 Palm Beach Atlantic. With a packed Clemente Center, the Panthers were motivated to pick up their first ranked win of the year.
SSC PLAY – GAME SIXTEEN
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 78, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 77
Records: Florida Tech (10-14, 6-10 SSC)
| Palm Beach Atlantic (20-4, 12-4 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center
| Melbourne, Florida
GAME NOTES:
First Half:
- The Panthers struck first tonight when Matt Daulerio hit a three to open the scoring.
- Both teams traded baskets, but a small run from the Sailfish gave PBA an early 22-12 lead.
- Points from Ty Harpring, Grant Lovette and Ca'Darrius Sowell cut into the deficit, and the Panthers only trailed by two possessions.
- The Tech defense forced a handful of steals and missed shots, but the Panthers were still unable to tie the game.
- Despite a late run of six straight points, PBA scored five points in the final minute to take a nine point lead at the break
HALFTIME SCORE - Florida Tech 33, Palm Beach Atlantic 42
Second Half:
- Needing a spark, Daulerio and Sowell hit their first two shots of the first half, and the Sailfish's lead was cut in half.
- PBA pushed the lead back up to ten points, but Tech answered right back with buckets from Harpring, Sowell, and Lovette to make it a 51-46 game with 12 minutes remaining.
- The Panthers continued to chip away and used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to just two points.
- Each team went on a scoring run until Xavier Ford-Belton came up big with a block and a steal to spark another run with six minutes left to play.
- AJ Lieuwen and Ty Harpring both hit threes, and Ca'Darrius Sowell got into the lane for a smooth finish at the rim to make it a one-score game again.
- While PBA held onto a one-possession lead heading into the final minute, the Panthers kept fighting back and answered every Sailfish basket.
- After a defensive stop with two minutes left, Sowell hit a big-time three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 73.
- PBA retook the lead, but Matt Daulerio came right back with a three of his own and the Panthers held a 76-75 lead.
- After another Sailfish bucket to give them a one-point lead, Ca'Darrius Sowell hit the biggest shot of his Panther career, a fade-away jumper with 6.7 seconds left in the game to upset the No. 12 team in the country.
FINAL SCORE - Florida Tech 78, Palm Beach Atlantic 77
COACHES CORNER:
Head Coach Will Murphy on the big win, "a couple of great individual performances, a great shot at the end of the game by CD. I was really proud of the way we broke the game down and continued to win the four-minute wars. We didn't lose any ground as we tried to get back in the game, and by the time we were back in it, the momentum was fully on our side, and we made one more play than they did."
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Tonight's win is the first ranked win of the Will Murphy era.
- Ca'Darrius Sowell sets his new Panther high and hits his first game-winner of his Panther career.
UP NEXT: The Panthers will stay at home for another ranked matchup as they take on No. 1 Nova Southeastern this Saturday at 4:00 PM.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech Men's Basketball, 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.
