The Florida Tech Panthers 7-8, 2-5 SSC) went into Barry Saturday with a conference record of 1-5, taking on the seventh-ranked team in Division II basketball, with the Buccaneers having won seven straight games. None of that mattered in the end as the Panthers pulled off a huge 96-83 upset in Miami Shores.
The Panthers shot the ball extremely well in this game, especially from beyond the arc. They were 9-of-14 in the first half and 14-of-27 overall, a 51.9 percent clip. They were 29-of-57 overall from the field, good for 50.9 percent.
Barry shot 47.5 percent from the field (29-of-61) and 10-of-29 from three. Junior Elvar Fridriksson led Barry with 24 points and just for good measure broke the school’s all-time assist record. He finished with nine helpers.
Jordan Majors led the Panthers with 26 points, finishing with three three-pointers. Patrick Anderson is working his way back into basketball shape and he was good for 23 in this game, while Sam Daniel finished with 16.
The supporting cast for the Panthers did a great job in this game, with Majors and Daniel in foul trouble in the second half. Majors picked up his fourth with 13:20 left in the game and Daniel followed with 8:54 to go and the Panthers hanging on to a 66-62 lead.
Not only did Anderson and company keep the Panthers above water, they were able to expand that lead as the chance for an upset became more plausible.
The Bucs jumped out to an 11-6 lead early, but a jumper by Anderson and a three by Daniel tied things up with 14:19 to go in the half. Later with the game tied at 16, Majors earned the hoop and the harm, giving the Panthers a 19-16 lead with 12:45 to go. He would put them up 21-18 with another layup and Anderson followed with a three to give the Panthers a six-point lead with 11:39 to go.
Barry 10-2, 6-1 SSC) cut the lead to four, before Daniel hit another three with 10:16 to go, making it a seven-point game. Barry went on a 5-0 run to cut it to two, but Majors buried a triple with 9:25 to go, giving the visitors a 30-25 advantage. He would hit another three later, as would Darius Wright to make it 36-29 with 6:25 to go.
An 8-0 run by Barry gave them a 38-36 lead before Daniel would tie it up. These two teams would finish that way at the break, with the score knotted at 44.
The home team would start the second half on a 6-0 run only to watch FIT match it and just like that, things were tied at 50, 2:48 into the half.
The home team led 60-59 but Daniel hit a three and later a free-throw before Michael Milligan drained a three to make it a 66-60 lead for the visitors. They would later expand that lead to eight on two free-throws by RJ Coil.
Daniel Mortensen went on a 5-0 run of his own, cutting the Panthers lead to 70-67 with 6:43 to go. Mortensen would finish with 17. Coil would find nothing but the bottom of the net with three of his 13 points, with 6:16 to go, getting the lead back to six. A three by Anderson in that span finished off an 8-0 run for the visitors and they led 78-67 with 4:25 to go.
Barry would hit a couple threes down the stretch, but the Panthers were in the double bonus late in the game and performed well enough at the charity stripe down the stretch and get a much-needed SSC victory.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Barry Box Score
The Panthers will look to keep the momentum going when they travel to Saint Leo on Wednesday to take on the Lions. The tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.