Panthers Roll Past Cougars, 109-52
MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Basketball) – Florida Tech’s men’s basketball team dominated on both ends of the
hardwood Saturday night as the Panthers claimed a 109-52 home court win over Clearwater Christian College. The Panthers shot an impressive 54.8 percent
from the floor and over 56 percent from beyond the arc in the win. The team also commanded the boards with a 54-20 rebounding edge. E.J.
Murray led the way for Tech with 22 points, while Justin Sedlak battled on the boards all night, pulling down a game-high 12,
nine of which were on the offensive end. Carl McNally had a near perfect game for the Panthers with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and a
3-for-3 effort from the line, adding a team-high four assists and three steals. Jeremy Ham paced the Cougars with 16 points, 12 of which came from
three-point range. Although CCC shot well from the free throw line (71.4 percent), the team was held to 29.1 percent shooting from the field and committed
23 turnovers in the loss. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to control the game. The home team jumped out to a 7-0 lead, capped off by a bucket
from Sedlak at 18:39. CCC responded immediately with a three-pointer by Ham, but from that point on it would be a rough up-hill battle for the Cougars.
Florida Tech led by as many as 33 in the first half on a layup by freshman Jake Jones at the 5:12 minute mark. The Panthers took a 57-27 lead into the
locker room. Tech picked up where it left off to start the second period, pulling away to a 40-point lead at 17:35 on another jumper by Sedlak. A
pair of free throws from Clearwater Christian’s Lonzo Saunders two minutes later cut the Panther lead to 37, but that’s as close as the visitors would get
for the night. Murray made it a 50-point affair with just under 10 minutes to go in the game (88-38), and Sean Zeller drained a
basket from downtown to give the Panthers their largest lead with 1:31 left on the clock at 107-48. “This was a good game for us tonight,” head
coach Billy Mims said. “Obviously the guys played real well all around with 23 assists and with limiting our fouls. I thought we did an
excellent job, especially on the offensive boards.”
In a quick turnaround, Florida Tech heads to Orlando Sunday for a 1 p.m. tip-off with the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamón. The two teams have the honor
of squaring off at Amway Arena, site of the NBA Eastern Conference Orlando Magic.
