Techs Mens Basketball Earns First Win in Home Opener
MELBOURNE, Fla. (men’s basketball) – The Panthers defeated the Bulldogs of UPR-Mayaguez on their home court for their first win of the season by eleven;
88-77.
Coming off the tough loss to Bethune Cookman College in their season opener, the Panthers were hungry to capture their first win of the year. The quick
start to game saw the Panthers up 15-4 before the Bulldogs went on a seven point run to cut the lead to two at 17-15. With the Panthers holding strong and
wanting more, Tech pushed their lead to seven and eventually took a twelve point lead going into half time. Tech’s determination caused 13 turnovers for 14
points off the turnovers and had eight steals in the first half. The Panthers shot 37.5% from the field and shot 91.7% from the line for their 37-29
halftime lead.
In the second half the Panthers couldn’t find the basket until five minutes into the half as the Bulldogs went on a 15-0 run and captured the lead 44-39.
The Bulldogs managed to keep the lead for the next six minutes until the Panthers tied the game at 53-53. With 9:20 on the clock, the Panthers recaptured
the lead off a lay-up by Ryan Ballard (Melbourne, Fla.) that swayed the momentum back to Tech’s side. Tech carried that momentum through the rest of the
half which took them to finish off the Bulldogs by 11 points, 88-77.
The game consisted of some physical play which led the Panthers to get to the line 35 times making 29 for 82.9% from the line. From the field Tech shot
44.3% with Arthur Richardson (Niceville, Fla.) leading the way shooting 50% from the field; 7-14 for the team high 23 points. Ryan Ballard and Justin
Sedlak (Pezinik, Slovakia) also shot above 50% from the field combining for 31 of the teams 88 points. Ballard made 4 of 7 from the field for 16 points
while Sedlak made 6 of 11 for 15 points. Other strong performances on the night came from Jod Kelley (McCormick, S.C.) with 12 points and Carl McNally
(Cocoa Beach, Fla.) with 11 points. Tech’s bench came up big for the team as the reservists combined for 21 points on the night.
Defensively, Tech caused 19 turnovers and 10 steals which turned in for 25 points for the game. Sedlak recorded a double-double on the night with 11
rebounds to go along with his 15 points while Janko Mrksic (Stoney Creek, Ontario) and Damien Clark (Orange Park, Fla.) totaled 13 boards for the Panthers
on the night.
Tech, now 1-1 on the season travels to Jacksonville on Wednesday, November 22nd to take on Jacksonville University at 7 pm.
Newspaper Box Score
UPR-Mayaguez vs Florida Tech
11/19/06 4:00 pm at Clemente Center
At Clemente Center
FLORIDA TECH 88, UPR-MAYAGUEZ 77
UPR-MAYAGUEZ (0-1)
Williset Del Valle 10-23 1-1 24; Luis Ramirez 7-22 5-6 20; Perdro Colon 6-13
5-8 18; Omar Velasuez 0-3 6-6 6; Amaury Padilla 2-5 0-0 4; Simon Emmerson
0-7 3-4 3; Nandy Toro 1-1 0-0 2; Paul Arroyo 0-0 0-0 0; Loarnel Rosario 0-3
0-0 0; Josue Rodriguez 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-78 20-25 77.
FLORIDA TECH (1-1)
RICHARDSON, Arthur 7-14 8-10 23; BALLARD, Ryan 4-7 7-8 16; SEDLAK, Justin
6-11 2-3 15; KELLEY, Jod 5-13 0-0 12; McNALLY, Carl 3-11 5-6 11; CLARK,
Damien 1-2 4-4 6; MRKSIC, Janko 1-2 3-4 5; AGEE, Markus-Alan 0-0 0-0 0;
HILL, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; ZELLER, Sean 0-0 0-0 0; WOODSON, Donovan 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 27-61 29-35 88.
UPR-Mayaguez……………… 29 48 – 77
Florida Tech……………… 37 51 – 88
3-point goals–UPR-Mayaguez 5-25 (Williset Del Valle 3-11; Perdro Colon 1-2;
Luis Ramirez 1-4; Simon Emmerson 0-5; Loarnel Rosario 0-2; Amaury Padilla
0-1), Florida Tech 5-17 (KELLEY, Jod 2-4; RICHARDSON, Arthur 1-2; SEDLAK,
Justin 1-3; BALLARD, Ryan 1-3; WOODSON, Donovan 0-1; McNALLY, Carl 0-4).
Fouled out–UPR-Mayaguez-None, Florida Tech-SEDLAK, Justin.
Rebounds–UPR-Mayaguez 46 (Williset Del Valle 15), Florida Tech 45 (SEDLAK,
Justin 11). Assists–UPR-Mayaguez 10 (Luis Ramirez 8), Florida Tech 14
(BALLARD, Ryan 5). Total fouls–UPR-Mayaguez 24, Florida Tech 21. Technical
fouls–UPR-Mayaguez-None, Florida Tech-SEDLAK, Justin; McNALLY, Carl. A-219
