Anderson Drops 25 in Losing Cause

Patrick Anderson - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography

Junior guard Patrick Anderson led all scorers Wednesday with 25 points, but in the end, it was not enough to keep the Florida Tech men from dropping a 98-90 decision at Florida Southern.

The home team shot Florida Southern shot 60.3 percent (38-of-63) from the floor, including 9-of-10 from three-point range. They hit 13-of-18 from the charity stripe. Florida Tech shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70) and was just 9-of-27 from three.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball very well,” said Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims, in his postgame interview with Paul Van Scott. “When you dig a deep hole, you can’t try to fight out of it and make mistakes.”

Anderson made eight of his 16 shots and buried four from long range, but off shooting nights from Sam Daniel and Jordan Majors, who had huge games in last week’s thrilling 109-106 win over Embry-Riddle, meant that the Panthers struggled offensively and that was the difference in the game. Daniel finished with 16 and Majors with 12.

Things started well for Florida Tech, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game. They kept that momentum for the first six-plus minutes, extending the lead to 23-13 with 13:57 to go in the first half. Michael Milligan’s three with 9:37 to go made it a 30-22 game, but the Mocs’ quickly closed to 32-31 with 6:38 to go. They capped off an 11-2 run and got their first lead of the night with 5:38 to go, 33-32.

Both teams traded baskets for a bit, but Florida Southern got the upper-hand late and led 46-40 at the half. Credit the Moccasins defense, who clamped down on two of the Sunshine State Conference’s best players in Daniel and Majors. Daniel finished the half, hitting only one of four shots and Majors was two of eight. Those are numbers you just don’t see from those players.

The Panthers (10-6, 3-4 SSC) never led in the second half, going down by as many as 13, 67-54, with 10:33 left. The Mocs’ built it to a 17-point lead with 8:33 to go, up 75-58.

Florida Southern (6-10, 4-4 SSC) kept the double-digit lead until Daniel hit a free-throw with 48 seconds left. That was as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way.

“We make some silly mistakes at times, where we shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Mims. “We get ourselves back in the game and then we try to make a play and it’s not there, or we try to get a steal that’s not there.”

For more info: Florida Tech @ Florida Southern Box Score

Jarel Spellman and Michael Volovic scored 22 and 20 points respectively, to lead Florida Southern. It was a career-high in points for Spellman.

Next up for the Panthers is a road game at Palm Beach Atlantic, on Saturday. Opening tip is scheduled for shortly after 4:00 p.m. following the women’s game.

“We’re 9-1 at home, but we’re 1-4 on the road,” said Mims. “We need to find a way to play on the road, like we play at home.”




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