Florida Tech Panthers Sports Roundup

By  //  March 20, 2014

Jermaine Jackson Named to NABC South District Second Team

Florida Tech junior guard Jermaine Jackson was named to the All-South District Second Team by members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Wednesday morning.

Jermaine Jackson earned NABC All-South District Second Team honors Wednesday morning. (Florida Tech image)
Jermaine Jackson earned NABC All-South District Second Team honors Wednesday morning. (Florida Tech image)

Jackson’s honor marks the fourth consecutive season that a Panther appears on the all-district team. Last season, Julius Reid was named to the All-South District Second Team, and Simon Cummings and FIT all-time leading scorer Justin Sedlak earned the postseason honors in 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Justin Sedlak
Justin Sedlak

Jackson finished the season second in the SSC in scoring with 19.5 points per game. The junior scored 20 or more points in 14 games in 2013-14, including three 30-point performances. Against Nova Southeastern University on Jan. 22, the Louisville, Ky. native scored a career-high 38 points, 21 coming from three-point range, to lead the Panthers past the Sharks, 97-86.

Jackson, a sports management major, surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Jan. 18 at No. 3 Florida Southern College. He concluded his junior campaign with 1,259 points.

“This is a great honor for Jermaine and a sign of the growing respect for our program from coaches around the South Region, Jermaine has continually improved in all areas during his time here at Florida Tech. This year, he joined the 1,000 point club in early January with a great game at Florida Southern. He has proven to be one of the premier scorers in the SSC and is on track to push former Panther great Justin Sedlak for the all-time scoring title at FIT. We look forward to a great senior season ahead by Jermaine.” — Billy Mims

The NABC honor is his second postseason award this year. Earlier this month, he was named to the All-SSC First Team. The Panthers concluded their 2013-14 season 16-13 after a heartbreaking loss in the SSC Quarterfinals.

2014 NABC South All-District Team

Billy Mims
Billy Mims

FIRST TEAM
Kevin Capers, Florida Southern
Trey Casey, Christian Brothers
Rashaun Claiborne, North Alabama
Jerrel Harris, Saint Leo
Desmond Raymond, West Alabama
Willie Readus, Delta State

SECOND TEAM
Yunio Barrueta, Barry
Brandon Davey, Fort Valley State
Jermaine Jackson, Florida Tech
Nate Johnson, West Florida
Devin Schmidt, Delta State

Men’s Lacrosse Downed by No. 4 Tampa

 No. 4 Tampa used a nine-goal third quarter to pull away from Florida Tech and win 21-13 Wednesday night at Melbourne Central Catholic’s Hustler Stadium as the Panthers drop to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the Sunshine State Conference with the defeat and the Spartans, meanwhile, remain undefeated at 8-0, 2-0 SSC.

Mike Marshner, above, scored his first goal of the season with 13:48 to play in the second quarter but the Panthers fell, 21-13. (Florida Tech image)
Mike Marshner, above, scored his first goal of the season with 13:48 to play in the second quarter but the Panthers fell, 21-13. (Florida Tech image)

FIT went toe-to-toe with Tampa in the opening 30 minutes. CJ Nichols helped his team capitalize on a man-up opportunity with an assist fromBrian Bacarella with 12:39 to play in the second quarter. The goal, Nichols’ third of the game and 17th of the season, gave the Panthers a 6-5 lead.

Tampa quickly put a halt to FIT’s momentum by scoring four straight goals. Bacarella broke the Spartans’ streak with his 16th goal of the campaign at the 2:30 mark of the second quarter. The two teams went into the half with Tampa leading FIT 10-7.

Andrew Conley
Andrew Conley

Andrew Conley cut the opposition’s lead down to just two less than three minutes into the third quarter with an assist from Nichols. However, Tampa scored seven straight goals in a span of six minutes, 26 seconds to take a 17-9 lead. It would tack on four more goals to secure its second SSC win.

Zack Kunkel
Zack Kunkel

Freshman Zach Kunkel (0-1) received his first career start in goal and turned away 13 of the Spartans’ 47 shots. Tampa finished 28-of-38 in faceoffs and collected 52 ground balls. FIT held the Spartans to 4-for-8 in extra man opportunities.

Brian Bacarella
Brian Bacarella

Conley registered four goals and now has nine on the season. Bacarella and Alex Carlson had two goals each.Christian Isola and Mike Marshner both scored once, and the goal was Marshner’s first of the season.

The Panthers will now hit the road for three straight away games starting on Saturday against Brevard at 1 p.m. They will then play the following day at Mount Olive at 2 p.m. The road trip concludes on March 29 at Rollins.

The next and final time the Panthers will play at home this season is on April 5 against Lynn at 7 p.m. at Hustler Stadium. Prior to the game, the team will recognize Evan Ryan as part of Senior Day.