DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team traveled to Embry-Riddle on Tuesday night for the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. 

PBA's (7-20, 7-13 SSC) season came to an end in the opening round game of the tournament. The Sailfish were the No. 7-seed in the tournament and faced an Eagles (22-8, 14-6 SSC) team that earned the No. 2-seed in the conference. Jules Jasmin put up a career-high 31 points for the Sailfish, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles won the game 82-65 to advance to the second round of the tournament. 

Jasmin recorded 13 field goals on 19 attempts, including four 3-pointers. The senior stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, two steals, two assists, and one block. This was Jasmin's final game as a Sailfish. He leaves PBA as the DII-era career leader in points, games played, minutes played, field goals, rebounds, and free throws.

Jakob Hester was second on the team in points, scoring 14 with six rebounds and three assists. Nate Ward had 10 points with a pair of steals. Will Lee scored 10 points with four assists, two 3-pointers, and two rebounds.

The first 10 minutes of play were slower-paced. The game was tied at 15 at the 11-minute mark. The Eagles pulled away with an 11-1 run thanks to a couple of Sailfish miscues. The PBA offense got off to a slow start, shooting 39 percent in the first half which allowed the Eagles to gain a sturdy lead. ERAU led 43-28 at the break. Jasmin had 11 points with two 3-pointers at halftime.

The Eagles continued building their lead in the second half. ERAU increased its lead to 22 thanks to a 9-1 run. Jasmin did everything he could to try to bring the 'Fish back. The Sailfish continued to play hard, going on a 14-2 run with four buckets from Jasmin to cut the deficit to 10 with just over four minutes to go. The Eagles responded with a short, 8-3 run to keep their distance to help seal the 85-71 win.

As it did in the first two matchups earlier this season, rebounding played an important factor in the game. ERAU outrebounded PBA, 43-29. The Eagles had 15 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points. ERAU outshot the 'Fish, 52 percent to 44 percent from the field. The Sailfish executed well at the free-throw line, converting on 12-of-15 attempts. PBA also came out on top of the turnover battle, forcing 13 ERAU turnovers leading to 17 points.

Tonight's game concludes PBA's first season under head coach Cole Rose. Rose continued PBA's streak of making the conference tournament every year since joining the SSC. The Sailfish finished seventh in the conference, despite being picked ninth in the SSC preseason coaches' poll.