Box Score MELBOURNE - Anthony Jackson put back a missed shot with 5.4 seconds to play in overtime, giving Florida Tech an 83-82 win over Florida Southern Wednesday night. It marked the second year in a row the Panthers slipped past the Moccasins in overtime in Melbourne.
Florida Tech (15-4, 7-3 Sunshine State Conference) led by seven with less than six minutes to play in the second half when Florida Southern (12-7, 5-5) went on a 9-0 run to take a 72-70 lead with 2:59 remaining. Seth Evans put the Mocs ahead with a 3-pointer, but the Panthers responded with six straight points of their own to re-claim the lead.
Down by four, the Mocs got back-to-back layups from Brett Bailey to tie the score at 76 with 51 seconds to play. The Panthers then missed a chance to go ahead again when Derek Helleman was off the mark with 28 seconds on the clock, and the Mocs turned the ball over before they could attempt a game-winning shot of their own.
In overtime, the Moccasins trailed 81-78 before Kevin Capers scored with 1:03 on the clock to get them within a single point. Evans came up with a steal after that, leading to another Capers basket that gave Florida Southern an 82-81 lead with 26 seconds to play.
Florida Tech then missed two shots on its next possession, but Jackson grabbed the rebound after the second one and put it home with 5.4 seconds on the clock. The only shot Florida Southern could get after that was a 3-pointer by Bailey that was no good as time expired.
Behind SSC scoring leader Simon Cummings, Florida Tech led for most of the first half before Florida Southern tied the game at 20 on a 3-pointer by Tyler Kelly, and then took its first lead of the game on another 3-pointer by the freshman guard. That was part of a 15-3 run by the Moccasins that also saw Cameron Vines make two field goals.
Kelly would make another 3-point shot with 2:22 to play in the first half that snapped a 30-30 tie, and gave the Mocs a lead they would hold until Julius Reid made one for Florida Tech at the 18:02 mark of the second half. Though Florida Southern tied the game twice after that, the Panthers didn't surrender the lead again until the Mocs' 9-0 run late in the second half.
Capers led Florida Southern with 18 points, while Evans and Bailey each scored 17 and Kelly scored 11. Vines added six points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Evans was 5-for-10 from behind the arc, but after going 7-for-14 as a team in the first half, the Moccasins were only 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the second half and overtime.
Florida Tech was led by Cummings, who scored 25 points, while Helleman had 20. Julius Reid scored 17 points, had six rebounds and five steals, and Jackson came off the bench for 13 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
Florida Southern shot 43 percent overall, and Florida Tech shot 41 percent.
Florida Southern returns home for its next game on Saturday night when it hosts Nova Southeastern at 7:30 p.m.
