Panthers Self-Destruct Against Florida Southern

Patrick Anderson - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography

The Florida Tech men’s basketball team started well on Wednesday against the Florida Southern Moccasins, but lost all momentum in the closing moments of the first half and ended up on the short end of an 86-71 score. With the win, Florida Southern improved to 24-13 all-time as the visitor, against Florida Tech.

Patrick Anderson led the Panthers with 19 points, including going 5-of-7 from three-point land, but the other big scorers, Sam Daniel had 15 and a team high eight rebounds, but was an uncharacteristic 0-for-5 beyond the arc and Jordan Majors finished with five points.

Florida Southern (10-13, 8-6 SSC) won all the key statistical categories, including points in the paint 42-26, second chance points 8-6 and fast-break points, 6-0. None were costlier than points off turnovers. The Panthers 15 turnovers proved costly, as Florida Southern scored 25 points.

“We played well tonight for about 15 minutes,” said Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims. “Might have been the best 15 minutes we’ve played all year. I thought our offensive execution was great, but what keyed their run at their run at the end of the first half, was three straight turnovers. The turnovers and the easy scores they got off those turnovers were the difference in the game.”

The Panthers (12-11, 5-9 SSC) couldn’t break away early, but they picked up steam with a 20-8 run, that saw their lead balloon to 31-19 Richard Coil, who is not known for his three-point shooting hit one to put an exclamation point on that scoring outburst.

Florida Tech still held a double-digit lead 35-25, with 4:43 left, but the Mocs made a run that cut it to 40-39 in favor of the Panthers at the half.

Florida Southern had a run of their own to start the second half. With the game tied at 45, they scored 13 straight points and led 58-45 with 15:40 to go. The Panthers cut it to 62-53 with 10:17 to go in the game, but they never threatened down the stretch.

The Mocs held a 19-point lead with 1:04 to go in the game, which was their biggest advantage of the night. The Panthers shot 33.3 percent in the second half (12-of-36) due in large part to missing easy shots they usually make.

“We missed a lot of bunnies in the second half,” said Mims. “We missed so many shots around the basket in the second half. Robert Booth went 2-for-11, Jordan Majors went 1-for-8. Most of their shots were inside the foul line, 15 feet and in, so we missed a lot of easy shots.”

For more info: Florida Southern @ Florida Tech Box Score

The Panthers are on the road Saturday, visiting Saint Leo for a 7:30 Sunshine State Conference showdown.

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