Melbourne, Florida – Panther men's hoops was back home this evening as they took on Rollins College. Tech was looking to complete the regular-season sweep of the Tars and get back into the win column.
SSC PLAY – GAME FOURTEEN
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 83, Rollins College Tars 74
Records: Florida Tech (9-13, 5-9 SSC)
| Rollins (12-10, 6-8 SSC)
Location: Clemente Center
| Melbourne, Florida
GAME NOTES:
First Half:
- Tonight's game did not start out well for Tech as Rollins jumped out to an early 11-0 lead.
- Brewer Nitcher got the Panthers on the board with a three, followed by jumpers from Ca'Darrius Sowell and Xavier Ford-Belton.
- Tech continued to storm back with back-to-back three pointers from AJ Lieuwen and Ty Harpring to only trail by two points at the midway point of the first half.
- After Rollins scored to put them up 17-13, Greyson Williams and Ford-Belton used finishes at the rim to tie the scoreline.
- Back-to-back three from Lieuwen gave the Panthers their first lead of the night and sparked a packed Clemente Center.
- Both teams traded baskets, but an 8-2 run in the final two minutes of the half and a huge block at the buzzer from Ford-Belton gave the Panthers a seven-point halftime lead
HALFTIME SCORE - Florida Tech 33, Rollins 26
Second Half:
- The offensive momentum did not sputter during the break as Sowell opened up the second half with a smooth finish in the paint.
- Rollins did respond, but a strong three-point play from Ford-Belton, followed by a three-pointer from Sowell, grew the Panther advantage to double digits at 38-28.
- After the Tars cut the lead to five, Tech responded with a huge 18-5 run, and the lead quickly grew to 18 points.
- Points from six different Panthers sparked this run, and while Rollins answered back to stop the run, a layup from Sowell and a Greyson Williams three-pointer put the Tech advantage to 20 points at 71-51.
- The Tars attempted a comeback in the final five minutes, but the game was never in doubt as free throws from Nitcher, Ford-Belton and Sowell sealed the win for the Panthers.
FINAL SCORE - Florida Tech 83, Rollins 74
COACHES CORNER:
"This season we have had stretches where we score a lot or we defend really well so happy to see us finally do both in the same game. Best defensive performance in the past couple of weeks, super proud of how we played on that side of the ball. Proud of how we responded after going down 11-0 and steadied the ship."
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Ty Harpring is now five three-pointers away from breaking the freshman single-season record after drilling six threes in tonight's win.
- The Tech defense has held Rollins to under 30 first-half points in both games this season.
UP NEXT: Tech will head back out on the road this weekend as they travel across the state. The Panthers will take on Eckerd this Saturday, February 7
th, at 4:30 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.
