MELBOURNE, Fla. – The first day of the Florida Tech Winter Classic provided an entertaining contest between Notre Dame College and the host Panthers, on Sunday. The Falcons put together several runs throughout the contest to stay close and junior Michael Sampson tied the game with two clutch free throws near the end of the regulation. Florida Tech pulled away in overtime for an 89-82 victory.

The two teams struggled to get the offense started in the first half. NDC started the game shooting 2-for-10 from the field while FT was shooting 30-percent in their first ten shot attempts.

Florida Tech jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but Notre Dame was quick to jump back into the game when freshman John Godinez provided a spark. He knocked down two shots from long range and then sent an excellent pass to junior Sam Jackson for a layup and NDC trailed by one point (13-12) after the 8-3 run.

Godinez had 12 points in the first half and finished the game with career-highs in points (23) and made field goals (8). He also hit three, three pointers, which ties his career-high.

Florida Tech would score the next eight points and pull ahead by nine points (21-12) with 10:14 on the first half clock. Once again, the Falcons' defense forced turnovers and missed shots, and NDC took advantage on the offensive side. Sampson connected on a three and then Willis hit a three-point shot and later knocked down two free throws following a technical foul. The Falcons got the ball back because of the Florida Tech technical foul, and junior Tyland Crawford broke free on the inbound pass for an easy layup. That gave the Falcons a 22-21 lead and capped a 10-0 run.

The Falcons and Panthers traded the lead, but FT took the lead and held it for over two minutes. With less than one minute remaining in the first half, junior Daylin Lee was fouled as he made a layup. Another technical foul was called on the Panthers and NDC's Godinez made two free throws. Lee connected on his shot from the stripe to tie the contest at 33 heading into halftime.

The Falcons were only shooting the ball at 35-percent, but they were destroying Florida Tech in points off turnovers (12-2), second chance points (8-2) and fast break points (9-0) after 20 minutes of play.

NDC stayed close to Florida Tech throughout the second half and did not have to put together many long runs. A 5-0 run gave Notre Dame the lead when Crawford fired up the bench with a make from long distance at the 13:38-mark. The Falcons led 42-41.

With nearly eight and-a-half minutes to go, Notre Dame had the advantage as junior Jaedon Willis hit a jumper to put NDC in front 54-52.

Florida Tech took the lead back and held onto it for eight minutes. They led by as many as five points, with 1:40 remaining. Notre Dame was relentless and gave the ball to the hot hand, Godinez, who knocked down a three with 37-seconds to go.

Florida Tech led by two points, but they took a three pointer in attempt to put the Falcons away. That plan backfired when Sam Grant missed and NDC grabbed possession. Following a timeout, NDC got what they wanted as Sampson snuck underneath the hoop by himself, took the pass and was fouled. He hit both free throws and tied the contest at 72.

Despite missing three free throws in the first minute of overtime, Florida Tech scored the first eight points in the extra period and used that to finish off the victory.

"Tough one tonight," said head coach Mark Richmond. "I thought our guys played really well after we settled in. We're not happy with the outcome but we really battled and gave ourselves a great chance to win."

Along with 23 points, Godinez was incredibly efficient shooting the ball. He went 8-for-11 (73-percent) from the field, 3-for-4 from three (75-percent) and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Willis had 17 points, while Crawford and Lee each had 11. Florida Tech did turn the ball over 12 times, and NDC used that to its advance by scoring 17 points off turnovers and had 19 fast break points.

"We're looking forward to bouncing back tomorrow," Richmond mentioned. "Lynn is very talented team. They play very different than Florida Tech. It will be another tough challenge."

NDC will take on Lynn University tomorrow, Dec. 20. Tip-off in Melbourne, Fla. is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.