Melbourne, Florida – After canceling their last two games, the Fighting Knights returned to action for the first time in 10 days to take on the Florida Tech Panthers. Playing without Christian Peevy, Tommie Luke and Cameron Gaines, Branden Bornelus and Branden Ellis combined for 50 points to lead the Fighting to the 84-68 win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Lynn 84 Florida Tech 68
Records: Lynn (9-4, 3-6 SSC) Florida Tech (9-6, 3-7 SSC)
Series History: Lynn leads 37-21
Location: Charles & Ruth Clemente Center | Melbourne, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @Lynn_Knights | Instagram - @Lynn_Knights | Facebook - /LynnFightingKnights 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The shorthanded Fighting Knights took the lead to start the game behind four points from Servet Kurnaz. Both the Panthers and the Fighting Knights struggled to score in the early going, with Lynn taking an 8-4 lead into the first media timeout.
• The scoring picked up in the next stretch of play, with the Panthers outscoring the Fighting Knights 9-7 in just over 2:30. Five of Lynn's seven points during the stretch came from Ellis, who led the team with seven points at the midway point of the half.
• The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 10:44 remaining in the first half after knocking down a three. However, it was a short-lived lead, as Bornelus answered with a deep three of his own to give Lynn the 19-17 lead.
• After a free throw by Ibrahima Sankare, Bornelus hit another three, then followed it up with a layup to help Lynn build an eight-point lead, the largest for either team up to that point. The Fighting Knights would take a 25-19 lead into the third media timeout.
• Leading 28-27 late in the first half, the Fighting Knights went on a 9-2 run to grow their lead back to eight. They would head into halftime with a 37-29 lead.
• Bornelus was the leading scorer for Lynn heading into the break, scoring 10. He also dished out five assists. He played all 20 minutes of the half.
• Lynn outrebounded Florida Tech 20-14 in the half. They also outshot the Panthers 46.7%-37.5% from the field. While both teams made four three-pointers in the first half, the Fighting Knights shot 4-10 while the Panthers were 4-17.
• In the second half, the Fighting Knights extended their lead to nine just ahead of the first media timeout.
• After the timeout, the Panthers cut the lead to 41-37, to get the game as close as it had been since late in the first half. However, the Fighting Knights answered with an 11-3 run to take a 12-point lead.
• Coming out of the media timeout, the Panthers scored 10 in a row to cut the lead to 52-50.
• The run was ended by a three from Jamison Evans, his first of the game. It sparked the beginning of a 10-4 run for the Fighting Knights who got their lead back up to 62-54 at the under-8:00 media timeout.
• From that point on, it was all Fighting Knights as they saw their lead grow to as many as 16 with just over one minute remaining in the game. They would go on to win the game 84-68.
• Bornelus scored a game-high 26 points and dished out 10 assists for his first double-double of the season. 
• Ellis pretty much couldn't miss, shooting 10-12 from the field on his way to a 24-point performance. The total was the highest of his career. 
• Kurnaz finished with 11, while Sankare and Evans each scored nine. Frank Mack scored five points in five minutes of play.
• Kurnaz had a team-high eight rebounds, while Ellis had a team-high five steals.
• Alex Doane had five assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
• As a team, the Fighting Knights outrebounded the Panthers 38-26, and they had 25 assists compared to just 19 for Florida Tech.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The two canceled contests will count as forfeit losses for the Fighting Knights when it comes to their Sunshine State Conference record. However, the games will not count against their record as far as the NCAA is concerned.
• Only six players scored for the Fighting Knights in Saturday's win.

UP NEXT:

The Fighting Knights will return home to take on Embry-Riddle at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19.