WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team finally opened its season on Wednesday night against Florida National in a packed Rubin Arena.
The start of the Sailfish basketball season was originally scheduled for Nov. 11 but was pushed back due to Hurricane Nicole. PBA showed little signs of rust or first-night jitters in tonight's matchup. The Sailfish hit 15 threes and played some stout defense on their way to an 84-59 win over Florida National.
Will Lee, last season's Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year, led PBA with a career-high 25 points, shooting a scorching 9-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from deep.
Bryce Laskey made his Sailfish debut, coming off the bench to score 18 points with three triples and five rebounds.
Ryan Claflin played his first game for PBA, scoring 12 points with four rebounds and two threes.
Jakob Hester was the fourth PBA player to hit double-digits, scoring 11 points with four rebounds and two blocks.
Along with Laskey and Claflin,
Kolbe Ashe,
Trent McNair,
Broderick Ellis, and
Pedro Brown also made their Sailfish debuts today.
After conceding a pair of threes to FNU at the start of the contest, PBA ramped up its defensive intensity. Having trailed 6-5 to start the game, the Sailfish scored 14 straight points over six minutes to take a 19-6 lead. The 'Fish caught fire from 3-point range in the first period. A Laskey jumper from downtown made it 40-17 at the 3:41 mark. He scored 16 points in the first half on the way to a 43-23 lead at the half.
3-pointers from Claflin, Lee, and Hester in the first three minutes of the second half put PBA ahead 57-47. The Conquistadors cut the deficit back down to 20, but it was far too little too late for FNU. Freshmen McNair and Ashe got in the action, knocking down a triple each down the stretch leading to an 84-59 win for PBA.
PBA was operating efficiently on the offensive end, shooting 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range. The 'Fish dominated on the boards, grabbing 39 rebounds compared to 21 for Florida National.
Marcus Montalvo tracked down a team-best nine boards in the game.
The Sailfish were boosted by 24 points coming off their bench. PBA scored 17 points off FNU turnovers and 10 points on second-chance points.
PBA kickstarts its conference schedule on Saturday with a tough matchup against Florida Southern. The game in Lakeland, Fla. takes place at 7:30 p.m.
