WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Southern College men's basketball (22-10, 13-7 Sunshine State) fell to #12 Palm Beach Atlantic (26-4, 16-4 Sunshine State) 82-77 in a close SSC Semifinal matchup at Rubin Arena. Despite trailing by five at the half, Florida Southern managed to tie the game three times in the second half, benefiting from a 20-point contribution on second-chance opportunities. The Sailfish capitalized on their free-throw shooting, converting 14 of 20 attempts to maintain a narrow lead and secure the victory.
"Really proud of our effort tonight," stated Mocs' head coach
Mike Donnelly. "We got off to a poor start, but to our guy's credit, they battled back to give ourselves a chance to win. After we scored to take a 1-pt lead with a little over a minute left, I was confident we would find a way to get a stop and win the game. PBA made 6 straight free throws with under a minute to play and made a couple of big defensive play to their credit. Disappointed in the loss, but not in our effort."
The first half began with Palm Beach Atlantic initiating the scoring with a jumper from Graham Worland. Florida Southern responded with a three-pointer from
Brady Corso, assisted by
Ameer Ramadan, before a five-minute scoring drought. Despite a challenging start, the Mocs managed to keep the game close with key contributions from
Charlie Dalton, who scored consistently in the paint.
FSC found its rhythm midway through the half, highlighted by a three-pointer from Corso at 7:12, narrowing the deficit. The team continued to capitalize on turnovers, with
Khalil Ross converting a steal into a layup. As the half progressed, Florida Southern's scoring efforts, including consecutive layups by Dalton, brought them within striking distance. The half concluded with the Moccasins trailing by a narrow margin, 41-36.
Florida Southern began the second half with a notable defensive play when
Amare Miller blocked a layup attempt just seconds after the half started. This defensive stand was followed by an offensive surge, as the team quickly tied the score at 43-43 through a series of successful possessions, including a layup by Dalton. The Moccasins continued to pressure Palm Beach Atlantic, narrowing the gap multiple times with key shots, including a 3-pointer by Corso, bringing the score to 57-63.
In the latter part of the half, FSC managed to gain the edge 77-76 with a tip-in by Miller. However, Palm Beach Atlantic edged ahead with free throws in the final seconds. Despite Florida Southern's efforts to regain control, including a late timeout strategy, the Sailfish held on to win with a final score of 82-77.
Corso scored a team-leading 21 points, converting seven 3-pointers. Miller finished with 17 points and collected 11 rebounds, his 14th double-double of the season. Ramadan added nine points and recorded five assists.
Jasir Tremble scored 10 points while also contributing three steals.
The Moccasins await their fate in the NCAA tournament, announced on Sunday night at 11 PM ET on
ncaa.com.
