Florida Tech Ready For St. Leo, Seeking First Conference Win

By  //  January 2, 2015

Both teams seeking first SSC win

 (Florida Tech image)
Florida Tech and Saint Leo are both looking for their first Sunshine State Conference win of the season when they meet Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. at the Bowman Center. (Florida Tech image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Florida Tech and Saint Leo are both looking for their first Sunshine State Conference win of the season when they meet Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. at the Bowman Center.

The Panthers (9-2, 0-1 SSC) last played an exhibition game at NCAA Division I Stetson on Tuesday, falling 77-61.

Akeem Johnson led all scorers with a game-high 19 points, 15 were recorded in the second half.

Chris Carter was the only other Panther to score in double figures, contributing 10 points with eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and one block.

Having not played in 10 days, FIT was limited to a 32.1 field goal percentage against the Hatters.

The Panthers found success at the line, where they were 19-of-23 for 82.6 percent. They were plus-five in turnovers, forcing Stetson to commit 19 to their 14 mistakes.

Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson leads FIT and is fourth in the SSC in scoring at 16.4 points per game.

Corbin Jackson is averaging 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. His blocks per game total is second most in NCAA Division II and his 41 total blocks are tied for the most.

The Lions (8-4, 0-1 SSC) have won their last four games since they lost their SSC opener to Barry on Dec. 6, 64-56. In their most recent game, an 80-63 victory over Evangel, the Lions hit 51 percent of their shots and connected on all but two free throws, 21-of-23.

Ron Foxx had a team-high 17 points and Edmunds Dukulis was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field along with 1-of-1 from the free throw line for 15 points.

Entering the game with the top-ranked defense in the SSC surrendering 59.8 points per game, Saint Leo held Evangel to a 41.5 field goal percentage. Evangel, however, found holes in the Lions’ three-point defense as it hit 11-of-23 from long range.

Foxx leads all Lions in scoring at 15.9 points per game. Lucas Johnson is their leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game.

FIT is 5-6 against Saint Leo since the 2009-10 season. Last year, the Lions won both meetings by scores of 92-80 on Jan. 4 at Saint Leo and 67-64 on Feb. 5 in Melbourne.

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Live video and stats will be available for the 2 p.m. women’s game and the 4 p.m. scheduled men’s game courtesy of Saint Leo at FloridaTechSports.com.

Jim Mitchell and Paul Van Scott will provide an audio broadcast for both contests at FloridaTechSports.com/live