Melbourne, Florida – The Fighting Knights traveled to Melbourne, Florida to take on Lake Superior State in their first game of the Holiday Classic at Florida Tech. Lynn opened up a 13-point lead in the second half, but had to hold off a furious run from the Lakers in the final two minutes to escape with the 76-71 win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Lynn 76 Lake Superior State 71
Records: Lynn (6-3, 1-3 SSC) Lake Superior State (6-3)
Series History: Lynn leads 2-0
Location: Charles and Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Florida
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STATS OF THE GAME:

• The Lakers came out very hot, while the Fighting Knights struggled out of the gate. Lake Superior State hit two threes in the first two minutes and then were fouled on a three-point attempt. After knocking down all three free throws it put the Lakers up 9-0.
• Tommie Luke ended the run by scoring Lynn's first basket of the game on a contested driving layup. The shot sparked a 9-2 run for the Fighting Knights which brought them back within two.
• The lead swelled back to seven when the Lakers went up 16-9, but the Fighting Knights continued to battle, and with 12:48 left in the first half, Ibrahima Sankare made a driving layup to tie the game for the first time since it was 0-0.
• After trading baskets, Lynn took their first lead of the game when Sankare hit a three-pointer to give Lynn the 21-20 lead.
• The Lakers responded with a 9-2 run to take a 29-23 lead. But Lynn's defense locked down, and the offense came to life with an 8-0 run go up 31-29. During the run, the Lakers went more than four minutes without scoring.
• The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half with the Lakers ultimately coming out on top 36-35 heading into the break.
• Luke was the leading scorer in the first half with 10. Sankare finished with nine and Branden Ellis finished with seven. For the Lakers, it was all Malek Adams who ended the first half with 16 points on 6-10 shooting, including 4-8 from three.
• The Fighting Knights were outrebounded 26-18 in the first half, including 11-2 on the offensive glass. They did outshoot the Lakers 50-32.5%. 
• The second half was back and forth early before the Fighting Knights went on a 9-0 run to build up a 46-40 lead, their largest of the game up to that point, and force a Lakers' timeout.
• But the timeout didn't end the run. Brandon Bornelus hit his first three of the game to stretch the lead to nine and extend the run to 12-0. After a Luke layup, the Lynn lead grew to 10 as the streak grew to 14-1. 
• During the 14-1 run, the Fighting Knights held Lake Superior State without a basket for over five minutes.
• After the run, Lynn was able to keep the Lakers at arm's length for a majority of the second half, growing their lead to 13 on numerous occasions.
• However, with the Fighting Knights leading 70-58 with 2:06 remaining, the Lakers mounted a furious run, scoring 14 of the game's next 15 points to cut the lead to 72-71 with just nine seconds remaining. However, the Fighting Knights made their free throws to seal the game and remain undefeated in non-conference play.
• Christian Peevy recorded his third-straight double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. Peevy also recorded four of the team's nine blocks, all of which were vicious.
• Luke finished the game with 15 points, the most for the Fighting Knights. Bornelus was right behind him with 14, aided by a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. Bornelus was just one assist shy of a double-double, leading the team with nine.
• Jamison Evans was one of three Fighting Knights to finish with nine points, and he did so by shooting 3-4 from deep. Ellis and Sankare each scored nine as well. 
• The Fighting Knights were dominated on the offensive glass, pulling down only six offensive rebounds compared to 20 for the Lakers. They did outperform the Lakers on the defensive glass by pulling down 32 rebounds compared to 28.
• As a team, the Fighting Knights made 10 three-pointers and shot 40% from deep. They outshot the Lakers 46.3%-35.1% from the field.

UP NEXT:

The Fighting Knights will be back in action tomorrow against Notre Dame (OH) at 4:30 p.m.