LAKELAND, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team played its Sunshine State Conference opener on Saturday night at Florida Southern.

Tonight's game went down to the wire as the Sailfish (1-1, 0-1 SSC) had three shots at the end to win the game, but couldn't get a shot to fall, resulting in a 73-72 loss.

The Sailfish entered the game with a 1-0 record after beating Florida National in the season opener on Wednesday. Florida Southern (4-0, 1-0 SSC) started the day with three wins, including a win over No. 5 West Texas A&M. 

Marcus Montalvo led PBA with 20 points and three triples. Will Lee added 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Jalen Cooper racked up a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Claflin added tallied nine points and four rebounds in slightly limited minutes due to foul trouble.

PBA's swarming defense did an excellent job forcing the Mocs into turnovers in the first half. FSC made 10 miscues in the first period. The Sailfish ramped up the intensity in the final six minutes of the half. PBA ended the last six minutes on a 13-2 run giving the 'Fish a 40-33 advantage at the break.

The Sailfish had a balanced attack in the first period. Cooper led the 'Fish at the break with 10 points, Montalvo and Claflin scored nine, and Lee tallied eight points.

PBA picked up where it left off at the start of the second half. A 3-pointer from Trent McNair gave the Sailfish their largest lead of the game, 47-37 at the 17-minute mark. The 'Fish entered a seven-minute cold stretch on offense, and the Mocs took advantage, going on a 25-6 run in that time frame. Claflin got his fourth foul of the game at the 13-minute mark, and the Mocs benefitted.

FSC led by as many as nine points, but the Sailfish continued to hang around. The Sailfish made their push with three minutes left to go. An old-fashioned three-point-play from Cooper, followed by a jumper from Lee made it 71-70 FSC with a little more than a minute and a half to go.

After the Mocs took a three-point lead, Montalvo drove to the basket for a layup to make it a one-point game. FSC chewed some clock before missing a 3-pointer, leading to a PBA chance. Lee shot a floater that just rimmed out, forcing PBA to foul. FSC missed the front end of the one-and-one, and PBA had 12 seconds to get it up the floor. Lee drove to the hole again. His layup was off the mark but rebounded by Cooper. Cooper shot a left-handed putback as time expired but put too much on it to fall. FSC held on to win, 73-72.

FSC only committed two turnovers in the second half. Although both teams finished the game with 12 turnovers, the Mocs did a better job of taking executing. The hosts scored 20 points off turnovers opposed to 10 for the 'Fish. FSC pushed the tempo, scoring double the amount of fast break points than PBA. The Sailfish cooled off from deep in this game, shooting 28 percent from deep. 

The 'Fish return home to host Clark Atlanta in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday. The game at Rubin Arena starts at 7 p.m.