LAKELAND, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic men’s basketball was overwhelmed by No. 4 ranked Florida Southern College on Friday night, falling to the Moccasins 101-74 in the Jenkins Field House.

PBA shot an eye-popping 63% (17-of-27) from the floor in the opening half, including 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point line. Senior Ronnell Ross had 16 first-half points thanks to a personal-best four three-pointers.  After playing the Mocs close in the first half, trailing 56-48 at the break, the second half would be a completely different story.

Florida Southern turned up the defensive effort in the second stanza, holding Palm Beach Atlantic to just 27% (7-for-26) from the floor and 8% (1-for-12) from downtown. In the meantime, FSC continued to shoot well from the floor, turning in a 45% (13-for-29) clip and knocking down 39% (5-for-13) from downtown.

For the game, Palm Beach Atlantic turned the ball over 22 times while also getting outrebounded 45-31. The bench play came up big for FSC, with the hosts outscoring PBA 53-24.

Ross wound up leading the Sailfish in scoring with 18 points, and was joined in double-figures by Nigel Sydnor (12), Evin Graham (11), and Garet Tucker (10). Sydnor converted on 10-of-11 attempts from the free throw line.

Palm Beach Atlantic returns to action Saturday, December 13th against Saint Leo University at 7:00 pm.