Late Surge by Panthers Not Enough to Overcome Sharks

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (men’s basketball) – Being down at halftime by fifteen and then eventually down by seventeen, the natural fight of the Panthers
didn’t fade out as Tech fought and clawed all the way back and eventually taking a two point lead but couldn’t eliminate the Sharks as they fell at the end
65-59 in SSC play.

Looking like the team that is always in a fight throughout the game, the Panthers held their own ground against the Sharks throughout most of the first
half. The Sharks Kevin Chester (Chicago, Ill.) who finished with 12 points started the scoring off after the tip. After a matching three pointer by E.J.
Murray (Rockledge, Fla.) seconds later, the two teams fought it out with neither team gaining any advantage over the other.

With the score marked 17-16 advantage Panthers, the Sharks went on a scoring spree sinking their teeth into every opportunity shown to them. In a six
minute span, the Sharks went on a 16-0 run that put them up 32-17 with just over three minutes to play in the first half. Nova kept that fifteen point lead
going into the intermission with a score of 37-22 ending Nova’s attack which ended as a 21-5 point turnaround.

After the intermission, the Sharks went back on the attack which pushed their lead to seventeen; the largest of the night. What seemed to be the end for
the Panthers actually helped them lash out any last attempts of a comeback which started off a simple lay-up by Janko Mrksic (Stoney Creek, Ontario,
Canada). With 16:48 on the clock and a deficit of fifteen points, the Panthers defended their ground going on a 17-2 in eight minutes of solid basketball.

Now with the game tied at 47 and still much of the game to play, the two teams battled it out much like the first half trying to find that edge that will
get them back over the top of the other. Neither team seemed to gain that advantage as the clock rolled down to the 4:34 mark and the Panthers up one;
55-54. After a made lay-up by the Sharks that retook the lead at 56-55, the wind seemed to disappear from the Panthers sails as the Sharks with time on
their side gained a comfortable lead that finished off the crimson and grey 65-59 taking Tech’s record to 5-14 overall and 1-6 in SSC play.

The tag team tandem of Kelley and Murray led the Panthers as Jod Kelley (McCormick, S.C) had one of his best nights of the year scoring a team high of 16
points shooting .500 from both the field and from behind the arc. Jod actually hit three 3-pts to start the second half that brought life back to the
Panthers 17-2 run. Jod also grabbed 7 boards and notched 5 assists against the Sharks. Teammate Murray scored 14 points and dished out 4 assists on the
night. Murray also hit two key three pointers in the teams run in the second half. Solid minutes came from Justin Sedlak (Pezinik, Slovakia) who chipped in
8 points and 4 boards while Mrksic grabbed a game high of 11 boards; Janko also chipped in 6 points on the night. Strong minutes came from Matt Hill (Ft.
Myers, Fla.) who dished out 4 assists and scored 4 total points.

Playing hard and down for much of the game took a lot out of the Panther players as they continuously played from behind catching up to the Sharks but
showed a ton of heart and determination that will prove worthy for the team if they can put a winning run together of their own.

Next on the Panthers schedule is Rollins College in a double header with the women’s basketball team on Wednesday, January 24th with the men’s tip off time
around 7:30 pm.

Remember fans, you can listen live via the internet through the Panther Athletic website http://gopanthers.fit.edu
by clicking on the Stretch Internet Listen Live icon in the upper right hand corner of the website.

Newspaper Box Score
Florida Tech vs Nova Southeastern
01/20/07 7:30pm at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (University Center)
At Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (University Center)
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN 65, FLORIDA TECH 59
FLORIDA TECH (5-14 (1-6))
KELLEY, Jod 5-11 3-5 16; MURRAY, EJ 5-13 2-3 14; RICHARDSON, Arthur 2-3 3-6
9; SEDLAK, Justin 2-11 3-3 8; MRKSIC, Janko 3-5 0-2 6; HILL, Matt 1-4 1-2 4;
CLARK, Damien 0-1 2-4 2; PAROTTE, Edmond 0-0 0-0 0; AGEE, Markus-Alan 0-0
0-0 0; WOODSON, Donovan 0-0 0-0 0; McNALLY, Carl 0-0 0-0 0; ZELLER, Sean 0-2
0-0 0; BALLARD, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 14-25 59.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN (9-7 (4-3))
AGUIAR, Diego 7-12 9-14 23; CHESTER, Kevin 5-10 2-4 12; MARTIN, Rhys 4-6 1-2
11; COENRAAD, Tim 3-8 2-4 9; REDDEN, Donovan 1-5 2-2 4; DEL CALVO, Jason 1-2
0-0 2; NITSIOS, Oresti 0-2 2-2 2; WOOD, Josh 0-3 1-2 1; SMITH, Jordan 0-0
1-2 1; SINCLAIR, Paul 0-1 0-0 0; PORTUONDO, Tomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-50
20-32 65.
Florida Tech……………… 22 37 – 59
Nova Southeastern…………. 37 28 – 65
3-point goals–Florida Tech 9-25 (KELLEY, Jod 3-6; MURRAY, EJ 2-6;
RICHARDSON, Arthur 2-3; SEDLAK, Justin 1-5; HILL, Matt 1-2; ZELLER, Sean
0-2; CLARK, Damien 0-1), Nova Southeastern 3-14 (MARTIN, Rhys 2-4; COENRAAD,
Tim 1-4; REDDEN, Donovan 0-2; DEL CALVO, Jason 0-1; NITSIOS, Oresti 0-1;
WOOD, Josh 0-1; PORTUONDO, Tomas 0-1). Fouled out–Florida Tech-SEDLAK,
Justin; KELLEY, Jod, Nova Southeastern-CHESTER, Kevin. Rebounds–Florida
Tech 33 (MRKSIC, Janko 11), Nova Southeastern 39 (AGUIAR, Diego 7).
Assists–Florida Tech 15 (KELLEY, Jod 5), Nova Southeastern 11 (MARTIN, Rhys
6). Total fouls–Florida Tech 27, Nova Southeastern 23. Technical
fouls–Florida Tech-None, Nova Southeastern-None. A-344