Sam Daniel Propels Florida Tech Panthers To Big 90-75 Win Over Conference Foe Rollins
By Mitch Praxl, Assistant Athletic Communications Director // December 1, 2016
Daniel nabs double-double with 30 pts, 16 boards
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – Sam Daniel was on a mission Wednesday night, burying 10 of his 19 shots on the way to a 30 point and 16 rebound game as the Panthers sank the Tars of Rollins 90-75 in a Sunshine State Conference Clash at the Clemente Center.
The Kingsland, Georgia native nearly had a double-double by halftime, posting 12 points and eight boards at the break.
However, it was Jordan Majors who led the Panthers in scoring at the half with 15 points and three rebounds, ending the night with 24 points and five boards as well as four steals and three assists.
The Tars’ offense was sparked by Jeff Merton, who finished the night with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Connor McKim and Joey Galvis each reached double-digits with 11 points apiece.
FIT held Rollins to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 30.3 percent in the opening half. The Panthers, on the other hand, shot 44.1 percent from the field and 36.8 from long ball range.
The Panthers opened the game with a cold shooting performance, allowing the Tars to build a seven point lead midway through the half.
Rafael Casanova came off the bench, though, the turn the tide. The Spanish native hit a three and made one of two free throws in rapid succession, then found Sam Daniel for a triple to tie the game at 19 apiece.
“I felt like tonight we had the right game plan, we just had to stick to it,” said head coach Billy Mims.
“Early on they made some big shots but then our defense got a little bit better, we started getting better pressure on their shooters and rotated better.”
Daniel closed out the opening period strong, going on an individual 7-0 run at the end of the half to put the Panthers up eight heading into the locker room.
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Thanks in large part to Daniel’s 18 points, FIT put the game out of range in the second stanza. Jordan Majors got things started with a three 15 seconds in as the Panthers opened the half on an 11-2 run to go up 17. From there the lead never got below 13 points as FIT improved to 2-1 in SSC play.
The Panthers jump right back into conference play on Saturday, hosting Nova Southeastern at the Clemente Center at 4 p.m. ET.
Join Coach Mims today at noon at Old School Pizza on Babcock St. for the Billy Mims show. Coach Mims will recap the past week with Alan Zlotrzynski and discuss the teams four game winning streak.
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