WRAL Sports Fan

Colleges

St. Aug Bounces Back To Beat Palm Beach Atlantic 73-69

Dec 15, 2012

West Palm Beach, Fla. — After Friday’s loss to Lynn University, Saint Augustine’s University regrouped within 24 hours to hand Palm Beach Atlantic University a 73-69 men’s basketball defeat at Rubin Arena on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.

 

The Falcons were led by Joel Kindred (Sr./Raleigh, N.C.) with 16 points and eight rebounds. He was one of five Falcons to score in double figures. Percy Woods (Sr./Washington, D.C.) added 12 points while Tyquan Stroman (Sr./Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Jon Kindred (Sr./Raleigh, N.C.) and Jordan Baber (So./Washington, D.C.) netted 10 points each.

 

The Falcons (6-3 overall) beat the Sailfish (1-7) in a 4 p.m. afternoon game after playing Lynn University on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in nearby Boca Raton, Fla. They put the loss to Lynn behind them after a meeting on Saturday morning.

 

“We talked about preparing ourselves mentally and staying hydrated,” St. Aug Head Coach Lonnie Blow, Jr. said. “It was a new day and a new game. We did a nice job of bouncing back against Palm Beach Atlantic.”

 

The Sailfish has one victory this season but it was against Lynn, which has a winning overall record. They were a scrappy bunch which gave the visitors all they could handle.

 

The Falcons fell behind by eight points early and trailed 41-40 at halftime. But the resilient Falcons came back in the second half to tie the game at 63-63 with seven minutes left before closing out with a 10-6 run. Woods scored seven of the 10 points for the Falcons including two free throws with 21 seconds left for the final margin.

 

“Percy made some big plays down the stretch,” Blow said.

 

With 18 seconds left and ahead by four, the Falcons put together one final stop to secure the win. Ranked fifth in Division II in field-goal percentage defense, the Falcons prevented the Sailfish from getting a clean three-point look as the seconds ticked off. The Sailfish finally hoisted a contested three which missed as the horn sounded.

 

"We did a nice job of switching screens and communicating on defense," Blow said. "It took them out of what they were trying to do. They scrambled to get off the last shot."

 

Marcus Hardy scored 20 points for the Sailfish. Nate Vera added 14 and Johnny Lantz scored 12.

 

“They played hard and are well-coached,” Blow said about Palm Beach Atlantic. “We were able to get stops in key moments and that was the difference.”

 

The Falcons are 2-1 during their four-game Southern road trip. They visit the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga., on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, in their final non-conference game of the season at 7:30 p.m. It will be the third away game in five days for the Falcons.

 

"You play a schedule like this to help you for tournament play," Blow said. "You may play late at night and early the next day. It is a matter of putting the game behind you and looking forward to the next game."

 

The Falcons enter CIAA play in January 2013 after the holiday break.