WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team faced a tough matchup in the form on No. 5-ranked Florida Southern.
 
The Sailfish held the lead down the stretch, but the Mocs were able to escape Rubin Arena without being upset. The Mocs came back to beat PBA 92-86. FSC (26-2, 18-2 SSC) outshot the 'Fish 48 percent to 42 percent. The visitors were aided by 40 points off the bench and forced 19 PBA (20-8, 13-7 SSC) turnovers.
 
Darhius Nunn flirted with a triple-double for PBA with a team-high 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jules Jasmin followed with 18 points and four rebounds while Dan Largey had 17 points with six rebounds. De'Ondre Jackson finished with 14 points while Justin Nichelson added 11 points.
 
PBA had to play from behind in the first half as PBA was held to a sloppy 36 percent from the field. After getting out to a hot start, the 'Fish surrendered a 9-0 run which allowed FSC to get its first lead of the game.
 
The 'Fish played from behind for the rest of the half. With four and a half minutes left in the period, the Mocs went on 10-1 run to extend their lead to nine. PBA went into the break trailing 40-33.
 
PBA wasted little time erasing the visitor's lead in the second half with a 7-0 run to tie the contest at 40. The Mocs stormed back with an 8-0 run to retake control of the game. The Sailfish made their push at the 14-minute mark with a 13-1 run that gave PBA a 60-58 lead. The momentum was on PBA's side after a 7-0 run, with five points coming from Jasmin gave the 'Fish a 67-61 lead.
 
The Mocs did not go down easy as they stormed back to make it a one-point game. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch as the physicality of the game intensified. FSC began to put the game out of reach when the clock was under a minute. A pair of successful trips to the foul line made it 91-84 FSC with 20 seconds left. PBA was unable to recover, leading to the 92-86 Mocs win.
 
PBA had its way on the glass, outrebounding the Mocs 45-35. The Mocs made up the difference by capitalizing on the Sailfish miscues. FSC had 18 points off Sailfish turnovers. The game was physical throughout as each team finished over 35 free throw attempts in the contest.
 
The Sailfish will host their first-round game of the SSC tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The opponent will be announced Saturday evening by the conference office.