Florida Tech Comes Back To Edge Livingston, 86-85

By  //  December 20, 2014

CAME BACK FROM 17 POINT DEFICIT

Trailing by one in the final seconds, Florida Tech’s Jermaine Jackson, above, hit the go-ahead basket to give the Panthers an 86-85 win over Livingstone Friday night at Claflin’s Tullis Arena. Florida Tech moves to 9-1 on the season, while Livingstone drops to 6-3. (Florida Tech image)
Trailing by one in the final seconds, Florida Tech’s Jermaine Jackson, above, hit the go-ahead basket to give the Panthers an 86-85 win over Livingstone Friday night at Claflin’s Tullis Arena. Florida Tech moves to 9-1 on the season, while Livingstone drops to 6-3. (Florida Tech image)

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Trailing by one in the final seconds, Florida Tech’s Jermaine Jackson hit the go-ahead basket to give the Panthers an 86-85 win over Livingstone Friday night at Claflin’s Tullis Arena.

The Panthers moves to 9-1 on the season, while Livingstone drops to 6-3. Jackson scored 16 of his points in the first half.

Jordan Majors nearly matched his teammate’s start, closing out the first 20 minutes with 15 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-6 at the line.

The Panthers found success early from three-point land where they hit 8-of-14 shots to take a 55-49 lead into the locker room.

Their largest lead was 17 points with 9:29 remaining. The Blue Bears’ Hakeem Johnson and Eric Dubose helped close that gap, scoring 13 and 11 first-half points, respectively.

Livingstone hung around in the second half, never trailing by more than nine points. Johnson gave the Blue Bears their first lead of the game with just under four minutes left. Dubose extended that advantage, putting Livingstone up by three at the 3:04 mark.

Akeem Johnson
Akeem Johnson

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Akeem Johnson stepped up, sinking two free throws to cut Florida Tech’s deficit to one.

He then gave the Panthers a one-point lead with a field goal with 1:12 to play to set up the dramatic ending. In the final minute, Dubose forced the lead to change hands with a jumper only to have Jackson hit the game-winner. Chris Carter fired a long pass to Jackson, who outran the defenders for the lay-in.

Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson

Florida Tech’s defense preserved the lead in the final 6.7 seconds. The win was big considering Livingstone was the 2014 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament Champion and an NCAA Division II Tournament participant.

Jackson tied for the game-high in scoring with 23 points. Corbin Jackson pitched in 19. Majors finished with 17, Johnson had 14 and Carter rounded out the Panthers in double figures with 11. For Livingstone, Dubose and Johnson scored 23 points each.

The Panthers will return to Tullis Arena on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. game against Claflin (2-6). Pay-per-view video and live stats will be provided with the links available at FloridaTechSports.com. Jim Mitchell will call the game for the Panthers at FloridaTechSports.com/live.