Florida Tech Falls On Road At Rollins College 91-82, Sam Daniel Leads Team With 27 Points
By Florida Tech // January 21, 2017
Florida Tech 11-8 (4-6)
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – A 20-2 run early in the second half spelled disaster for Florida Tech Saturday afternoon at the Harold and Ted Alfond Sports Center, as Rollins dropped the Panthers 91-82.
Despite the loss, Sam Daniel put up big numbers, posting 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-9 from behind the three point arc. The forward made seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe and pulled down four rebounds.
Jordan Majors struggled to find consistency from the field, making 5-of-17 attempts. However, thanks in large part to three triples, the Hopkinsville, Kentucky native posted 18 points. Majors also dished out 11 assists to record a double-double.
Patrick Anderson put home three threes on the way to 11 points. Anderson picked his spots, making 4-of-9 attempts in 34 minutes of play. Additionally, Rafael Casanova came off the bench to make a trio of three pointers, finishing the game with nine points.
For the Tars, Jeff Merton led the way with 28 points, knocking down 6 attempts from deep. Sam Philpot dominated the inside, converting 7-of-13 tries for 20 points.
Rollins took control early on, taking a 15-8 lead at the 13:45 mark on a jumper from Connor McKim. The Panthers, however, battled back with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to snag a three point advantage.
FIT would hold onto that lead throughout the rest of the half, finishing out the period in exciting fashion. Following a missed Tars three in the closing seconds, Robert Booth corralled the rebound, handed off to Majors and sprinted down the floor. The senior was rewarded for his hustle as Majors dished an outlet pass and Booth beat the buzzer with a slam to put the Panthers ahead 38-32.
Daniel got the second half started off well, drilling a three to stretch the FIT lead to nine. Unfortunately, just a few minutes later the Tars would flip the script completely and soon the Panthers found themselves down by double figures.
The Panthers continued to battle and got the deficit down to five after a 2-for-2 performance from Daniel at the line, putting the score at 70-65 with 6:10 left to go.
Rollins, though, was able to re-distance itself from FIT and close out the game, moving the Panthers to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Florida Tech stays on the road on Wednesday, hitting South Florida for a battle with Barry at 7:30 p.m. in Miami Shores.
