Majors Scores 25 in Panthers Tournament Opener

Majors (20) Vs. Bluefield State

The Florida Tech Men’s basketball squad got a lopsided victory in the nightcap of the Florida Tech Thanksgiving tournament, taking down Bluefield State (WV) 94-76. 

The Panthers victory followed the first game, that saw William Jewell College beat Tuskegee, 76-58.

Florida Tech got off to a quick start and never looked back, ending the night with four players in double figures. Jordan Majors led the way with 25 for FIT. “Jordan is just playing outstanding basketball,” said Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims. “It seems like every game he gets a little bit better.”

Majors also was the high assist man with eight, while turning the ball over only once. Patrick Anderson added 16 points for the Panthers, Derek Murphy had 15 and Robert Booth ended the night with 12, including four dunks.

Mims was also impressed with Murphy, who’s mom has been in town for the last couple games and Mims said that Derek is excited to have her here and is playing well for her. Murphy had five rebounds and could’ve had a couple more, but he was called for fouls in pursuit of the ball.

“I actually don’t think he fouled anybody,” said Mims. “I think he was penalized for being a great athlete. The more he does that, the more he continues to prove the big-time athlete he is, he’ll gain more respect from officials. Again, I just loved his effort.”

With the offense putting up 94 points, that would figure to get the bulk of the attention, but Mims was very impressed with his defense, especially in the first 20 minutes.

“It was our best single defensive half of the season so far,” he said. “Anytime you can hold a team to 28 percent shooting, you have a chance to put yourself in great position to win the game. I really liked the effort and energy we came out of the locker room with to start the game.”

By halftime the Panthers had 30 rebounds as a team and 22 of those were defensive rebounds. They finished with a 49-29 advantage over Bluefield State. “It’s probably the first time this year we’ve out-rebounded an opponent,” said Mims. “I was glad to see us get really serious about crashing the boards.”

After James Moreland hit a three-pointer to put Bluefield State (0-6) up 3-2, 1:04 into the game, the Panthers offense turned it up. They went up 9-3, before another three by Tanner Sims put the Blues back in it, 9-6. Majors answered with a three and that started a 10-0 run that included threes by Sam Daniel and Majors. With 12:59 left, the Panthers were up 22-6.

Sam Daniel (0) & Antonis Pefanis (35) 

Greg Purnell, who was the Blues second leading scorer with 16, hit a three to cut it to 23-9, but it didn’t stem the tide for long, as the Panthers reeled off another 10 in a row, to go up 33-9, with 8:27 left in the half.

Florida Tech shot 56.7 percent in the first half, hitting 17 of their 30 shots. Robert Booth put an exclamation point on the first 20 minutes, with a dunk, as the clock was winding down. With that, the Panthers enjoyed a 49-29 lead at the half.

Booth started the second half the way he finished the first, dropping the hammer down with another dunk, making it a 51-29 game 41 seconds in.

Florida Tech (4-3) never put a run of more than six together in the second half, but they didn’t need it. They had built up enough of a lead that they pretty much put it on cruise control the rest of the way.

For more info: Bluefield @ Florida Tech Box Score

R.J. Coil played in his first game of the season for the Panthers on Friday and led the team with two blocked shots. He has missed the first six games, recovering from a concussion. “He had five rebounds and he only played 12 minutes,” said Mims. “He’s a presence in the lane.”

Florida Tech will meet William Jewell in the championship game of the tournament on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. “They are as talented and well coached as many of the teams in our league,” said Mims of William Jewell. “Having to play them here at home, will be the same type of challenge that we’ll face night in and night out in the Sunshine State Conference.”

The consolation game between Tuskegee and Bluefield State will tip off at 3:30 p.m. 

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