FIT Uses 20-3 Run To Take Down Morehouse

By  //  November 25, 2012

Panthers To Play UCF In Exhibition On Saturday

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Behind an impressive start, Florida Tech (3-1) captured the Hooters of Melbourne Thanksgiving Tournament Championship with a 75-61 win over Morehouse (2-3) Saturday night at the Clemente Center.

FIT’s Jermaine Jackson had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Panthers beat Morehouse to win the Hooters of Melbourne Thanksgiving Tournament. (Image courtesy Florida Tech)

The Panthers won the opening tip and Julius Reid gave his team a two-point lead four seconds into the game. Although Morehouse’s Shawn Allen answered with a layup,Jermaine Jackson found David Usic in the paint for his first two points of the game.

The basket would start a 20-3 run punctuated by a trey from Chris Carter. Carter totaled 14 points during the run, which lasted five minutes and 37 seconds.

The sophomore transfer from the Air Force Academy finished with a season-high 30 points on 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-9 from the arc and 10-of-13 from the free throw line. He also recorded five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Jackson notched his second double-double of the season with 23 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. He also tied Reid for the team lead with six assists. Reid also had 10 points, five rebounds and six steals.

“Julius [Reid] had great numbers again today, but Jermaine Jackson and Chris Carter really stepped up,” head coach Billy Mims said. “We had so many guys play well, including our bench. Bryant Willis took three charges. He’s a smart basketball player. For a freshman, he had a phenomenal weekend. David [Usic] is learning more about American basketball and what it takes to play the game. It’s very different from the style of basketball he had been playing in Croatia. He has unlimited potential.”

With the win, Mims is now three victories away from 200 wins as a college head coach. Last season, he surpassed the 500-career win plateau and earned his 100th win at FIT.

Following the game, Carter was selected tournament MVP and Jackson was named to the all-tournament team. He was joined by Morehouse’s Shawn Allen and Andrae Nelson, Rio Piedras’ Angel Acevedo and Wisconsin-Parkside’s Jeremy Saffold.

Saffold led Wisconsin-Parkside to a 78-67 win over Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras with 34 points in the tournament’s Consolation Game Saturday afternoon.

FIT will return to action in exactly one week when it travels to the University of Central Florida for an exhibition game on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 4 p.m. Although the contest is an exhibition for the Panthers, it is considered a regular season game for the Fighting Knights.