Florida Tech Loses To Palm Beach Atlantic 78-73

By  //  February 11, 2015

Jackson had four blocks

Chris Carter finished with a double-double in the loss to PBA. Carter had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. (Image by Jim Hogue Photography)
Chris Carter finished with a double-double in the loss to PBA. Carter had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. (Image by Jim Hogue Photography)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Florida Tech (13-10, 3-8) men’s basketball lost to the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 78-73 in a hard fought game played at Rubin Arena.

FIT started the game with an early lead, 10-3, but turnovers by the Panthers allowed the Sailfish to make their way back into the game.

Florida Tech gave up the ball a total of 23 times, including 15 in the first half. PBA only had 13 turnovers for the game.

The Panthers took a 33-32 lead into halftime. Akeem Johnson led FIT with seven points. Chris Carter added six points and eight rebounds.

Corbin Jackson
Corbin Jackson

Corbin Jackson was impressive on defense for the Panthers, blocking four shots. Randy Echols and Caleb Wigginton each made one three-pointer for Florida Tech.

PBA was led by Evin Graham’s nine points and three rebounds at half.

In the second half PBA outscored Florida Tech 46-40. FIT was within three with 35 seconds remaining, but it was unable to grab rebounds on the defensive end, allowing for extra possessions for the Sailfish.

For the game, the Sailfish were led by 15 points from both Ronnell Ross and Garet Tucker.

The Panthers were led by a double-double from Carter, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Wigginton added 12 points and five rebounds. Jackson was one rebound shy of another double-double, with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks.

FIT outrebounded the Sailfish 49-27, including 23 offensive rebounds for the Panthers

Billy Mims
Billy Mims

“It’s great to outrebound a team, but if you can’t hold onto the ball, it doesn’t mean anything”, said head coach Billy Mims.

“We played hard, but we didn’t play very smart. You can’t just play hard and hope that you will out-talent the other team.”

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The Panthers were also deflated by poor shooting from behind the arc. FIT finished the game 4-of-24 from three-point range.

“You combine 20 missed threes with 23 turnovers, and that’s an equation for self-destruction”, said Mims.

Florida Tech looks to get back on track as it heads home to the Clemente Center in a game against No. 1 Florida Southern on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. Live video, audio and stats will be available at FloridaTechSports.com/live.