BOCA RATON, Fla. - Lynn University's men's basketball team fell short in its attempt to top Florida Tech, falling 72-63 at the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center on Saturday afternoon. Fred Landers tied a game-high with 18 points while Pavle Raickovic scored 12 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting from the field. The Fighting Knights drop to 7-12 overall and 1-8 in the Sunshine State Conference.
The second go-around between these two schools was a much tighter match-up than the first meeting of the season as the two teams jockeyed for the lead throughout the first half. Florida Tech and Lynn combined for four ties and seven lead changes but the Blue & White could not hold on to its late advantage, heading into the half trailing 32-29.
Lynn opened the game with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a towering one-handed dunk by Aaron Harrison. Florida Tech (14-6, 4-5 SSC) came back despite going 0-for-6 on its first six free-throw attempts. Trailing by four, 14-10, Kaleb Clyburn and Fred Landers would knock down back-to-back shots, with Landers coming from downtown, to put Lynn back on top.
The Blue & White's tenacious defense further altered Florida Tech's game plan as the team swatted away six shots in the opening period, five of which came from Cory Thomas. Four points in the final 1:04, though, put FIT ahead for good.
Twice Lynn was able to pull to within one, both times within the first five minutes of the second half, but each attempt was thwarted by a FIT basket. A 9-0 run, 48-38, by the Panthers put the Fighting Knights down by double-digits, of which they were never able to recover.
Lynn shot just 36.5 percent from the field compared to Florida Tech's 50 percent from the hardwood.
The Blue & White return to action on Saturday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to Lakeland, Fla., to battle nationally-ranked Florida Southern. Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter, Instagram and Vine.
