Solid Effort Carries FIT to Thanksgiving Tournament Title


Florida Tech got 29 points from Sam Daniel and 27 points from Jordan Majors on Saturday, carrying the Panthers to a 98-83 victory over William Jewell in the championship game of the Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament.

Patrick Anderson had 17 points and 13 assists and Robert Booth had a double-double as well, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He, Daniel and Majors all landed on the All-Tournament team.

William Jewell, who beat Tuskegee 76-58 in Friday’s tournament opener, came to play, as it was raining threes early in the contest on both sides. The Panthers jumped out to an 11-6 lead and the Cardinals would come back with an answer. The game was tied a few times early in the first half.

”They’re a really good basketball team,” said Panthers head coach Billy Mims, of William Jewell. “They’ve got some really good players on that team.”

The stat of the night in this one was the points off turnovers. The Cardinals turned it over 16 times and the Panthers earned 27 points. Florida Tech had 13 turnovers, but William Jewell only scored seven points off turnovers.

“We were the more aggressive team,” said Panthers head coach Billy Mims. “It was a feeding frenzy, the chum was in the water and when we came up with a turnover, we were efficient in turning that turnover into points.”

The three-ball carried the Panthers to a 49-38 halftime lead, as they were 10-of-16 from behind the arc and held a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Booth ended the half with a dunk, as the clock ran out.

The Panthers (5-3) shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33 from the field in the first half) and continued with the hot hand in the second half as well, shooting 51.4 percent (18-of-35).

“When you shoot 54 percent from the floor, you make 14 threes’ and shoot 45 percent behind the arc and you go 10-for-10 from the line, it’s hard to lose,” said Mims. “Bottom line is, when you make shots, you’re a difficult team to beat.”

The Panthers led by as many as 27 in the second half, the Cardinals never got closer than 15 in the final 20 minutes.

Majors had 25 points in the win over Bluefield on Friday and came back with another 27 points in this game, earning him the tournament MVP. “In the last four games, Jordan has been what we call a stat-filler,” said Mims. “Every statistic on the page, he’s got a number in every column. Coaches love that, it just means he’s doing everything right.”

Majors deserved the accolades for sure, but he was quick to take the focus off himself. “Give credit to the team, without them it wouldn’t be possible,” he said. “I just try to do my role on the team and I got great teammates. I’m just glad we got to pull it off.”

For more info: William Jewell @ Florida Tech Box Score

With the lopsided score, Mims was able to empty his bench with 1:22 left, getting some guys in to enjoy the tournament victory.

Next up for the Panthers is a Sunshine State Conference showdown with Rollins on Wednesday. The game will be played at the Clemente Center, but the Panthers will have their hands full, as the Tars come in with a record of 5-1 (1-0 SSC).

“They’re one of the top teams in this league every year,” said Mims. “Rollins is gonna sit back and play zone all night, so hopefully we can shoot the ball as well as we shot it tonight.”

Wednesday’s game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

This blog is an extension of our website - Sportslowdown.com
Follow us on Twitter @sports_lowdown

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panthers Rout Tarzans in Home Opener

Image
Sam Daniel (0) led the Panthers with 22 points in Monday's 110-84 victory After opening the season with two losses in the South Regional Tipoff Classic over the weekend, the Florida Tech Men’s Basketball team took their frustrations out on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Monday, with a 110-84 home victory. “It always feels good to home to the friendly confines of the Clemente Center,” said FIT head coach Billy Mims. “I knew when we got back here we’d shoot the ball better and we knocked down 14 threes’ and that’s the way we’re supposed to shoot the basketball.” Florida Tech (1-2) allowed five double-digit scorers in both losses in Atlanta. On Monday, they only allowed three and they had five of their own, led by Sam Daniel , who finished with 22, despite having only four in the first half. “The first half they had a box-and-one one me, pretty much had a player chasing me wherever I went,” Sam said. “It was an excellent job by my teammates stepping up to score the ball an...
Read more

FIT Women Fall Short Against Rollins

Image
The Florida Tech Women’s basketball team made a late run at a comeback Wednesday against Rollins, but ultimately the Tars hung on for a 72-67 Sunshine State Conference win. “It comes down to Rollins wanted that game more than we did,” said Panthers head coach John Reynolds. “I’m thinking that and it hurts me to say something like that, but you can’t come out in a conference game and go 3-for-14 on three’s.” Florida Tech (5-2, 1-2 SSC) led 14-11 after one quarter, The Panthers were within a point at 27-26, but a six-point run by Rollins late in the second helped them outscore the Panthers 25-14 in the quarter and go to the locker room with a 36-28 advantage. The visitors were 5-of-13 beyond the arc in that first half, while the Panthers went 0-for-8. Shequana Harris had eight points and three rebounds in the first 20 minutes, to pace the Panthers. “I think she played as hard and as good as she could,” said Reynolds of Harris. Marie Gilbert gave the Tars a 42-33 adv...
Read more

Tars Big Second Half Beats Panthers

Image
Jordan Majors - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Men’s basketball team had a tough task Saturday, when they traveled to Rollins. For the first 20 minutes, they looked up for it, as they led the Tars 38-32 at the half. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the home team put the pedal to the medal in the second half, scoring 59 points and winning 91-82 in a Sunshine State Conference game. It was the second straight devastating loss in the conference for the Panthers, who dropped a very controversial home game to Saint Leo on Wednesday. “We must be the best first half team in America,” said Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims, in his post-game interview with Jim Mitchell. “But we can’t play 40 minutes of consistency to save or lives.” The Panthers (11-8, 4-6 SSC) were up 12 against Saint Leo and up six at Rollins at the half, but lost both games. Florida Tech got off to a good start Saturday, with Jordan Majors hitting two quick threes. Things sagged...
Read more