Mens Basketball Falls to Stetson 80-52 in Exhibition
Men’s Basketball Falls to Stetson 80-52 in Exhibition MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Basketball) –
Florida Tech’s men’s basketball team nearly doubled its offensive output in the second half versus Division I Stetson Friday night, but it wasn’t quite
enough as the Panthers fell to the Hatters 80-52 in exhibition play. Senior Carl McNally scored 10 of his team-leading 12 points in the
second half, while Arthur Richardson tallied 10 points of his own. After a slow start, the Panthers shot nearly 44 percent in the
second stanza, but Stetson wound up with a 38-29 rebounding advantage. SU’s Garfield Blair led all scorers with 18 points and Eric Diaz had 12 to round out
the double digit scoring. Florida Tech found it difficult to get any offensive rhythm going to start the game, shooting just 28 percent for the
half, but E.J. Murray opened scoring for the Panthers four and a half minutes in on a steal by McNally and a breakaway down the court.
Tech then kicked up the defensive pressure and scored six unanswered points to take the lead at 11:29 with a jumper by Justin Sedlak to
make the score 10-9. Stetson, however, put up seven straight points to regain control of the game, 16-10. The Hatters would maintain the momentum
throughout the remainder of the half in spite of the pesky Cats. Though the Panthers held a 22-13 edge on the boards in the first 20 minutes and grabbed
six steals, three of which came from McNally, Florida Tech coughed up 12 turnovers and it was the home team that took a 31-18 lead into the break.
Stetson found itself in foul trouble early in the second half, racking up seven in the first eight minutes, sending the Panthers to line from that point on
in the contest. Florida Tech had a tough time finding an answer for Blair through the half as the junior posted nine points in the first six minutes of the
period. The Panther defense pumped up the pressure though, setting traps in the half court that the Hatters couldn’t get out of, forcing head coach
Derek Waugh to call a timeout at the 9:49 mark. Despite earning the team’s 10th foul early, Stetson kept coming at the Panthers and ended the
game on a 9-0 run for the final tally. Florida Tech continues its preseason play Saturday, Nov. 10, against the College of the Bahamas. Tip-off is
at 7 p.m., and the game will be played at Melbourne Central Catholic.
