BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Lynn University men's basketball team overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to defeat Palm Beach Atlantic, 97-92, Wednesday. The sophomore duo of Rickey Ballard and Nordin Kapic led the Fighting Knights with a combined 46 points and 27 rebounds. 
 
Lynn is 13-6 overall and 8-5 in the Sunshine State Conference.  The Sailfish are 14-8 and 8-6 in the league.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn outscored the visitors 46-43 in the first half and 51-49 in the second
- The Sailfish opened the second half on a 13-3 run just under five minutes into action for a 62-53 lead
- Ballard hit a layup that pulled the Lynn deficit to two, 64-62 at 12:34
- Palm Beach Atlantic then used a quick 6-0 run for a 71-62 lead with 11:19 showing
- Three pointers from Kapic (9:46) and graduate Jamison Evans (9:12) helped the hosts to a 72-71 lead at 8:37
- Graduate Ben Gahlert converted a layup and free throw for an 85-81 cushion with 3:57 to play
- Evans hit a three at 3:22 and Ballard connected on a three at 1:22 for a 92-85 lead
- Ballard hit a free throw with 22 seconds left and Evans closed the game by making two free throws with five seconds on the board for the 97-92 victory
- Ballard hit a three and graduate Tradavis Thompson hit a pair of jumpers for a 13-5 lead at 13:53 in the first half
- The Fighting Knights' largest gap of the half, 24-15, came with 10:11 left, after a three-point jumper by Evans
- The Sailfish answered with a 9-0 run that tied things at 24 with 6:24 showing 
- Lynn pushed its advantage back to seven, 36-29, with 3:40 showing before PBA hit a late three-pointer to set the score at 46-43 at intermission
- Lynn shot 53.0 percent (35-of-66) from the field compared to Palm Beach Atlantic's 49.2 percent (30-of-61)
- Lynn outrebounded the Sailfish 38-29
- The Fighting Knights outscored the PBA bench, 21-0, and they turned nine offensive rebounds into a 15-4 lead in second-chance points
 
FIGHTING KNIGHTS STATS:
- Ballard scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting (66.6%) with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal
- Evans and Kapic tied with 21 points each
- Kapic added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season 
- Evans finished with five three-pointers
- Gahlert scored 13 points with 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season 
- Thompson finished with 11 points and seven assists
 
UP NEXT:
- Lynn visits Florida Tech this Saturday for an SSC matchup at 4:00 pm