No. 19 Panthers Aim To Bounce Back Against Lynn

By  //  January 27, 2015

Top three-point specialist for FIT Kaila Callender (52.8 percent)

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A new week hopefully means a fresh start as the No. 19 Florida Tech Panthers prepare for a visit from the Lynn Fighting Knights at home Wednesday. ( FIT image )

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – A new week hopefully means a fresh start as the No. 19 Florida Tech Panthers prepare for a visit from the Lynn Fighting Knights at home Wednesday.

The Panthers saw their 15-game winning streak come to a close following noteworthy losses to No. 14 Rollins and No. 20 Nova Southeastern a week ago.

The league’s top-rated scoring offense looked anything but a replica of itself, as Florida Tech shot a combined 28 percent from the field and failed to top 70 points in each contest after doing so only once all season.

Ranked No. 9 with an opportunity to separate itself atop the Sunshine State Conference standings, the Panthers have since fallen back to No. 19 in the latest USA Today NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll.

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Kaila Callender

However, featuring three of the conference’s top-eight scorers, there may be no SSC lineup more capable of snapping out of a funk than the Panthers’. Not to mention, head coach John Reynolds has the luxury of going to the league’s top three-point specialist in Kaila Callender (52.8 percent) off the bench as well.

Under sixth-year head coach Niki Washington, Lynn (7-9, 1-6) is off to a rocky start in SSC play, but has proven it can play with anyone on any given night.

The Fighting Knights fell at home to Nova Southeastern by just four points back on Jan. 7, and picked up their lone conference victory this past Wednesday over a respectable Barry squad.

In the 66-45 disarray, Lynn converted 28 Buccaneer turnovers into 27 points and held Barry scoreless in transition.

Three Lynn players finished in double-figures, paced by leading-scorer Sharneka McCatty’s 13 points and seven boards.

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Charla Nelson-Jones

In addition to McCatty, forward Charla Nelson-Jones will garner FIT’s attention, averaging 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds heading into Wednesday’s matchup.

Following three straight losses to open the New Year, the Fighting Knights have alternated wins and losses in their last four.

Dating back to the 2011-12 season, the Fighting Knights have knocked off FIT in six consecutive meetings.

Panthers Hold On Against Nova Southeastern, 77-74Related Story:
Panthers Hold On Against Nova Southeastern, 77-74

Tune into FloridaTechSports.com for complete coverage of Wednesday’s action.

Jim Mitchell and Paul Van Scott will have the call live from the Clemente Center.