Florida Tech Opens Season With Exhibition Victory

Hill led all Panthers notching 18 points for the game

MELBOURNE, Fla.-The Florida Tech Panthers ushered in a new era under first year head coach Billy Mims shutting down the Orlando All Stars 107-65 at the
Clemente Center this afternoon. Mims was able to go deep into the bench giving each player some quality minutes on the court.

Tech’s starting line-up included sophomore E.J. Murray (Rockledge, Florida) at point, senior Desmond Greene (Rockledge, Florida) at the two-guard, senior
small forward Ryan Maultsby (Vero Beach, Florida), senior forward Titas Vainauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) and junior center Damien Clark (Orange Park,
Florida).

Tech struggled in the first five minutes of play to get back their game bearings with the All Stars controlling the game early with a six point lead. At
16:57 Mims called a crucial time-out to calm down the team and Tech tied the game at 15:46 on a free throw by Maultsby. The Panthers never again
relinquished the lead the entire game going up by 42 points in the final minute of the game off a jumper by key reservist junior Matt Hill (Ft. Myers,
Florida).

Heading into the locker room Tech was up 45-21 with sixth man player senior Brad Rich (Oviedo, Florida) tallying nine points in the first 20 minutes of
play finishing at 12 for the game. Maultsby was close behind with eight points.

Hill was Tech’s top scorer of the game coming off the bench with 18 points going a perfect 5-5 from the field. He added two steals, two assists and four
rebounds for his 13 minutes of court time. Five other Panthers opened up the season scoring in the double digits for the night.

The Orlando All Stars which is mainly made up of SSC alumni was led by Eric Dean (Rollins ’98) tied for the game high with Hill putting up 18 points
hitting a perfect 8-8 from the line. Florida Tech alumnus class of 1996 Junior Allen pitched in 16 points and two steals. Defensively Dave Butler
(Community High ’00) brought down his team high in rebounds for eight and added 10 points. Other Panther alumni included Matthew Thys (class of 1996) with
nine points, nine rebounds and four rebounds, Dave Simon (class of 1998) and Dan Doroban (class of 1998) each adding six points.

Senior center Kevin Krieg led under the glass along with Vainauskas each tallying nine rebounds with Krieg notching six points and Vainauskas 13 points.
Both Vainauskas and Maultsby chipped in two blocks.

All in all, Tech really covered all the bases and ran a tight offense and defense. Murray passed 10 assists including a beautiful pass inside the Clark
that resulted in his first dunk on the season. Greene also brought the house down catching air for two dunks on the night tallying 14 points.

The Panthers are back in action on Wednesday, November 9th when they host Webber International in another exhibition match at 7:00 p.m. at the Clemente
Center. Prior to the game, Florida Tech will host a Pep Rally to introduce both the 2005-2006 Men’s and Women’s Teams. The Panther Pep Rally will begin at
5:00 p.m. and Tech will give out some great giveaways for more information check out the website at www.fit.edu/athletics.