Florida Tech Panthers Hold On For Tough 76-73 Road Win Over Palm Beach Atlantic, Now 10-6

Jordan Majors led all scorers with 22 points

Sam Daniel had an outstanding game, registering his sixth double-double of the year with 18 points and 14 boards while playing every second of the 40 minutes. (FIT image)

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – Florida Tech led throughout the entirety of the second half of Saturday’s road tilt at Palm Beach Atlantic but the Sailfish gave the Panthers quite the scare in the final minutes.

Nonetheless FIT was able to hold onto the lead until the final whistle to earn a 76-73 victory to move to 10-6 on the season.

Jordan Majors led all scorers with 22 points, in addition to three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

The redshirt-junior made 9-of-15 shot attempts, including a 2-for-6 effort from deep. Majors was hot early on, sinking 4-of-6 first half shots.

Sam Daniel had an outstanding game, registering his sixth double-double of the year with 18 points and 14 boards while playing every second of the 40 minutes.

Daniel knocked down 7-of-14 field goals and 3-of-9 attempts from three-point range. The Georgia native was also efficient in the first 20 minutes, going 4-for-7 and 3-for-6 from behind the arc for 12 points.

Despite recording the win the Panthers came up on the short side of many statistical categories.

However, FIT did dominate in a couple of areas, dominating the boards to a 37-to-27 advantage and turning its 14 offensive rebounds into a 20-to-4 disparity in terms of second chance points.

Jordan Majors led all scorers with 22 points, in addition to three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. (FIT image)

For PBA, guard Dakota Zinser led the way with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Forward Grant Gullett contributed 17 points, three boards and a pair of assists, while guard Bakari Warthen added 14 points, four dimes and a pair of rebounds.

The Sailfish led only twice in the contest and both occasions occurred within the first three made field goals of the game. Warthen converted a layup to give PBA a 2-0 lead and the Sailfish regained the advantage at 5-3 on a triple by Malek Barber.

Less than a minute later Patrick Anderson knocked down a three of his own to give the Panthers the lead and from there FIT controlled the game.

Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims gives his team instructions down the stretch in a tough road win. Be sure to catch The Billy Mims Show every Tuesday on Space Coast Daily TV. (FIT image)

The PBA deficit grew to as much as 12 at the 1:26 mark of the half when Derek Murphy sank a pair of free throws. A late Zinser layup cut the score to 41-31 in favor of the Panthers at the break.

A late Zinser layup cut the score to 41-31 in favor of the Panthers at the break.

The two sides battled back and forth throughout the second half but things started to get tight in the final minutes. A Zinser three cut the FIT lead to a single point at 68-67 with 4:13 to go.

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A quick 4-0 run by Daniel pushed the advantage back out to five with just under two minutes to play but with 34 ticks left on the clock Zinser hit another triple to ramp the pressure back up with the score at 74-72.

Back-to-back Panther turnovers, sandwiched by a Zinser free throw, gave PBA an opportunity to take the lead with Warthen at the line and seven seconds remaining.

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Luckily for FIT, Warthen didn’t take advantage. The West Palm Beach native clanked both attempts off the back of the rim and Anderson was able to seal the deal with a pair of makes at the charity stripe to secure the victory.

The Panthers return to the comfy confines of the Clemente Center on Wednesday, hosting Saint Leo for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip. Paul Van Scott and Jim Mitchell will have the call on FloridaTechSports.com/live.

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