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Florida Tech Basketball Coach Billy Mims Named Division II Coach of the Month

By  //  December 3, 2018

all-time winningest basketball coach in Florida Tech history

Florida Tech men’s basketball head coach Billy Mims has been named the Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month for November by Small College Basketball. The all-time winningest basketball coach in Florida Tech history, Billy Mims notched his 600th career win in 2018 and was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Florida Tech men’s basketball head coach Billy Mims has been named the Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month for November by Small College Basketball.

This is Mims’ second time receiving the Coach of the Month award. He first earned the honor during the 2007-08 season, for the month of December. To garner that monthly award, Mims led Florida Tech to an 11-0 record, its best start in program history, and a No. 11 national ranking, which was the highest in school history up until that point.

This time around, Mims guided a young Panthers squad to an impressive 5-1 record during the opening month of the season. The Crimson & Gray’s lone mishap came in the season opener against Auburn-Montgomery, a 71-65 loss to the Warhawks on Nov. 9.

After falling to AUM, Tech bounced back the following day by defeating Benedict, 91-77. Ten days later, the Panthers picked up another double-digit win over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 80-67, on Nov. 20.

During his 14 seasons at FIT, Mims has become its all-time winningest coach and led the program to their first-ever Sunshine State Conference title in 2012. Mims has coached 16 All-SSC players and two All-Americans.

Florida Tech then won its Thanksgiving Tournament for the fifth year in a row and took down a pair of undefeated teams along the way. The Panthers defeated Puerto-Rico Bayamon, 84-59, on Nov. 23 and Concordia-St. Paul, 95-89 in the championship game on Nov. 24.

The latter result was a milestone win for Mims, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history, as it was his 200th as head coach at Florida Tech.

In their final game of the month, the Panthers hosted Flagler in a regional showdown at the Clemente Center. Tech trailed the Saints, 36-26, at the end of the first half but then exploded for 50 points in the second en route to a thrilling 76-73 victory.

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All-Time Winningest Basketball Coach in Florida Tech History, Billy Mims Notched 600th Career Win In 2018

“After we started the season with a loss, with one of the youngest teams I have coached at Florida Tech, to bounce back and win five straight games is quite an accomplishment,” Mims said.

“I am proud of how much we’ve grown as a team over the first month as well as how we dealt with adversity since that first defeat.

“Hopefully, after losing this past weekend versus Eckerd, the team will bounce back again when we take on Tampa this Saturday.”

You can catch the Florida Tech men’s basketball team take on Tampa this Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Clemente Center. Tip-off between the Panthers and Spartans is set for 4 p.m.

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