WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team faced Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup.
Will Lee hit a clutch floater to send tonight's game into overtime. UFTL hit a jumper with just over three minutes left in overtime to take a 66-62 lead. A bucket from Lee made it 66-64 with two minutes to go. PBA (4-4, 1-3 SSC) had a couple of looks at the basket, including a driving layup from Marcus Montalvo as time expired, but just like many other attempts tonight, it just rimmed out. UFTL shocked the Sailfish by a score of 66-64.
The Sailfish were stunned by the Eagles, who attacked PBA aggressively on the defensive end. UFTL played a full-court press for long stretches of the game. PBA struggled to get its shot to fall, especially from 3-point range, shooting 5-for-28 from deep.
Lee led PBA with 18 points, shooting 8-for-18 from the field. Jalen Cooper had a double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. Montalvo scored eight points with a team-high 13 rebounds and five steals. Aleksa Rakic and Trent McNair tallied eight points each off the bench.
Fort Lauderdale led to open the contest, forcing several Sailfish turnovers and using their size and athleticism to get buckets inside and in transition. While trailing 22-19, the Sailfish mounted an 8-4 run with points from Bryce Laskey, Cooper, and Lee to give PBA a 27-22 lead, its largest lead of the game. UFTL stormed back with four 3-pointers, including a triple that banked in off the backboard at the halftime buzzer. The last-second heave gave the visitors a 38-30 lead at the break.
UFTL shot 48 percent from the field in the first half, and 57 percent from 3-point range. The shooting performance was out of character for the Eagles who entered the game with a 28-percent 3-point percentage on the season.
The rock fight continued in the second half as PBA slowly worked itself back. Fort Lauderdale led by as many as 11 points before the Sailfish made a run. A 13-2 run with buckets from Kolbe Ashe, McNair, Lee, Cooper, and Rakic made it a 49-48 PBA game with eight minutes to go. The teams traded buckets down the stretch, including a dunk from Cooper to make 60-60. A pair of free throws by the Eagles made it 62-60, setting PBA up with an in-bounds play with nine seconds to go. Lee went the length of the floor and hit the game-tying shot to send the game to overtime.
Both offenses struggled in overtime, but costly turnovers by the Sailfish made the difference in the game. The Sailfish held the Eagles to four points in the period, but only mustered two points themselves with several layups going in and out. Fort Lauderdale hung on to win, 66-64.
PBA won the rebounding battle, 46-41. The Sailfish forced 22 turnovers compared to UFTL's 20 turnovers with PBA scoring 25 points off turnovers.
The Sailfish hit the road to face Valdosta State on Thursday evening. The game in Valdosta, Ga. takes place at 7 p.m.
