Panthers Score Big Win Over Tampa

Derek Murphy - Credit: James Ragan Photography
The Florida Tech Panthers got a big win on Wednesday, with a 105-90 triumph over the Tampa Spartans at the Clemente Center. The team was in a must-win situation, as they try to claw their way into the Sunshine State Conference tournament next week and they got the job done, with six players scoring in double figures.

Derek Murphy scored a team-high 24 points to lead the Panthers. He was 8-for-9 from the field and hit all eight of his free-throws. Just for good measure he had six rebounds and one steal. 

“Every game he seems to get better and this was the best game of his career,” said Panthers coach Billy Mims. “He’s a sophomore who’s really coming into his own.”

Jordan Majors had 22, Patrick Anderson added a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists. He was 6-for-9 from the floor and hit all four of his shots behind the arc. Sam Daniel scored 17 points and Rafael Casanova and Robert Booth chipped in with 10 apiece. Booth had seven rebounds as well.

Anderson and Majors played 40 minutes, with Daniel playing 39. Majors was on the floor for a bit with 12:15 to go in the game after he was hammered by Austin Rettig with 12:15 to go in the game, resulting in a technical foul. Majors missed both free-throws, but stayed in the game.

The Panthers (15-12, 7-10 SSC) got off to a bit of a slow start, as Duke Shelton started strong, putting down two dunks and helping the Spartans jump out to a 13-6 lead with 4:08 gone in the first half. Shelton finished the first half with 11 points.

“We were playing okay, it just looked like we hadn’t settled into our game plan yet,” said Mims. “Once we settled into everything we’d worked on for the last couple days, I thought we really played well.”

Anderson’s three-pointer with 12:25 left to go in the half, put the Panthers up 20-18, before Rettig gave Tampa the lead back, with a three. Rettig was 6-of-8 from the field in the first half, including 4-of-6 behind the arc, accounting for 17 of the Spartans 39 first half points.

The game was tied at 25 with 10:43 to go in the half, before the Panthers went on a 7-0 run. A three by Rettig broke that up and cut the lead to 32-28, with 8:27 to go, but FIT got a steal and a bucket from Anderson and they were off and running, again with another 7-0 spurt.

Those two runs helped the Panthers finish the first half with a 45-39 advantage, thanks in large part to Anderson’s 11 points and Majors 10. Florida Tech shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the first half, while the Spartans 12-of-25, 48 percent.

The second half was dominated early by the Panthers, taking a 59-46 lead after another Anderson 3-ball, with 4:28 having elapsed. Another Anderson three with 9:07 to go, pushed the lead to 74-59.

Tampa (16-11, 9-8 SSC) went on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 86-79 with 2:49 to go, after a three by Mekhi Biffle. That was as close as the Spartans would get, with the Panthers going on a 15-5 run and just like that, it was 96-81. Florida Tech closed the deal from the free-throw line.

For more info: Tampa @ Florida Tech Box Score

“It was a huge win for us tonight,” Mims said. “We made 61 percent of our shots in the second half and 57 percent for the game. Nine players played in the game and positive contributions from all nine, even if they were only on the floor for a few seconds."

As it stands now, with this win over Tampa, the Panthers now hold the final spot in the conference tournament. This per information provided by Jerry Durney (@JerryDurneyPBP on Twitter).  

A win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday in the regular season finale, or a loss by Saint Leo to Rollins, would secure the Panthers spot in the tourney.
Saturday’s finale tips at 4:00 p.m., following Senior Day activities.


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