MELBOURNE, Fla.- Lynn University's men's basketball team lost, 103-81, to Florida Tech (8-1, 1-0) in the Sunshine State Conference season opener on Saturday afternoon in the Clemente Center. The Fighting Knights move to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in SSC play. Aaron Harrison led the Blue & White with 19 points and 14 rebounds while Cory Thomas had a game-high four blocks.
Despite the Panthers getting on the scoreboard first, Lynn battled for the opening minutes of the game. Haki Stampley game the Fighting Knights their first lead 7-6 on a bucket from behind the arc. Minutes later another trey from the sophomore from Milwaukee, Wisc., would find Lynn all tied up with FIT at 10-all.
The Panthers capitalized on 12 first-half turnovers by Lynn and shot an impressive 51.4 percent from the field. The Fighting Knights struggled offensively shooting just 26.7 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from behind the arc. Harrison had a team-high 12 points for Lynn while Florida Tech was led by Corbin Jackson who had 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Florida Tech extended its lead to as many as 28 in the second half before the final buzzer sounded. Kaleb Clyburn had 18 points all in the second half helping the Blue & White to improve its shooting to 40.4 percent from the field. Lynn connected on 6-of12 three-point shots in the second half; four of those were from Clyburn.
Although the Fighting Knights had four players in double digits Lynn was unable to pull off the win. Chris Carter led FIT with a game-high 24 points and nine assists while Corbin Jackson had 21 points and 17 rebounds, 14 of which were defensive. The Panthers outrebounded Lynn 46-45 pulling down 34 defensive boards.
Stampley shot 4-for-7 from behind the arc and dished out five assists while Fred Landers 12 points and six rebounds. Harrison's double-double was his third of the season.
Lynn has a week to prepare for Gwynedd-Mercy who comes to Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, December 16. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in the de Hoernle Center. Fans can follow the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com. Don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook and follow @LUKnights on Twitter, Instagram and Vine.
