Florida Tech Falls to Southern 78-60
MELBOURNE, FL- The Florida Tech Panthers suffered a conference loss today to the Florida Southern Mocs, 78-60. The visitors were led by senior guard Dale
Parsons (Toronto, Ont.) who scored 21 points, going 4-5 from behind the arch. Sophomore guard Hurley Dunbar (Indiantown, Fla.) led the Mocs defense;
grabbing eight boards (five offensive) while scoring 12 points.
Senior guard Brad Rich (Oviedo, Fla.) came off the bench and led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points, going a perfect 3-3 from three-point range. Senior
guard Ryan Maultsby (Vero Beach, Fla.) scored 12 for the Panthers, going 6-6 from the free-throw line while grabbing five rebounds.
The game went back and fourth for the first four minutes before Parsons sank his first three to put the Mocs up by one. From there the visitors built up an
eight-point lead with ten minutes left to play in the first half. Tech fought back strong and pulled within one on two consecutive free throws by sophomore
center Jod Kelly (McCormick, SC) with six minutes left in the half. Florida Southern began pulling away again but thanks to some great shooting from junior
guard Matt Hill (Fort Myers, Fla.) and sophomore guard E.J. Murray (Rockledge, Fla.) the Panthers pulled within three points going into the locker room,
38-35.
Florida Southern started the second half on fire, scoring eight unanswered points in the first four minutes before junior center Damien Clark (Orange Park,
Fla.) sank a free three to bring the score to 46-36. The Mocs continued to dominate the floor and built up a 19-point lead with five minutes left in the
half before Tech surged back. The Panthers pulled within 10 points on successful free-throws by Murray, Rich, and Kelley, and a couple three-pointers by
Murray and Rich to bring the score to 67-57 with three minutes left to play. It was a little to late however, and the visiting rivals capped the last
minutes of the game on a few free-throws and a dunk by sophomore forward Garrett Hull (Naples, Fla.) to win the game 78-60.
Damien Clark scored 11 for the Panthers overall while Murray scored 10 and dished five assists.
The Panthers fall to 3-15 overall, 0-8 in conference play. Florida Southern improves to 13-6 overall, 4-4 in the SSC. Tech’s next game is Monday, January
30 against SSC foe Rollins College at 7:30 p.m.
