DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball team faced off against Columbus State on Sunday.

The Sailfish (8-3, 2-1 SSC) looked to earn a second win in two days at the ERAU Bahama House Classic. PBA held a double-digit lead midway through the second half, but the offense stalled down the stretch allowing Columbus State (6-3, 0-0 PBC) to take the lead. A putback dunk by the Cougars with four seconds remaining put CSU ahead 72-70. The Sailfish had a shot to win at the end, but a 3-pointer was off the mark. The Cougars held on to win 72-70.

Dan Braster flirted with a triple-double, scoring 17 points with nine assists and eight rebounds. Will Lee finished with 13 points and two steals. Jamaal Walker added 11 points with five rebounds. Marcus Montalvo totaled 10 points with three rebounds and two assists. Grant Ledford just missed out on a second-straight double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.

The Cougars jumped ahead early in the game, building a nine-point lead by shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes of action. CSU led for most of the first half, but with 3 minutes remaining, PBA caught fire. A jumper by Lee ignited a 13-5 run that included 3-pointers from Ledford, Braster, and Lee that gave the Sailfish a 42-38 lead at the break. Lee had 11 of his 13 points in the first half.

Coming out of the break, the Sailfish kept their momentum going, extending their lead to nine points after a layup by Ryan Claflin at the 12:36 mark. Unfortunately for PBA, the offense became stagnant, and was frustrated by the Columbus State press. An 18-4 run by the Cougars put CSU back in front, 65-60 with 6:27 to play. Buckets by Braster, Ledford, and Lee put PBA back in front 66-65. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch with a CSU free throw tying the game at 70 with 47 seconds to go. 

After the missed free throw, a PBA 3-pointer was off the mark. CSU corralled the rebound and called a timeout with 21 seconds to play. The Sailfish forced a missed shot out of the timeout, but a missed boxout allowed an easy putback dunk to clean up the miss and give CSU a 72-70 lead. PBA had four seconds to answer, but its shot came up short at the buzzer.

The Sailfish shot 34 percent in the second half, bringing their field goal percentage in the game down to 42 percent. CSU shot 52 percent in the half and 54 percent from the field for the game. PBA converted on 8-of-19 attempts from 3-point range but went 1-for-6 in the second half. PBA won the rebounding battle, 38-31, and had only given up three offensive rebounds prior to the putback dunk. The turnover battle was even as each team turned it over 10 times.

The Sailfish break for Christmas before returning to their SSC slate on Dec. 30 with a game at Florida Southern. The game in Lakeland, Fla. takes place at 6:00 p.m.