By Chad Beattie
West Palm Beach, Fla. – Lynn University’s men’s basketball started the game hot and carried that golden touch to an 80-58 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday afternoon. Five Fighting Knights scored in double-figures, led by DeMario Fountain who had a game and career-high 19 points. The Blue & White improve to 9-6 overall.
A 5-of-7 start from the field was a precursor of the day Lynn would have. Shooting 51.9 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent from three-point range, helped the Fighting Knights to a commanding 45-23 halftime lead.
Both teams couldn’t miss after the opening tip-off but LU was able to hold on to a slim 21-16 advantage. The 24-7 run over the final 6:51 that followed was aided in large part to Slobodan Miljanic, who knocked down all three of his attempts from downtown and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. He finished the game with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, all from three-point range.
Fountain and Brandon Smith also contributed greatly in the opening period, logging nine points apiece.
Palm Beach Atlantic (3-12) was able to get back into the game midway into the second half by taking advantage of some mental mistakes by LU. The Sailfish went on a 14-4 run as Terrell Terry hit 5-of-7 from the free-throw line and Matt Roy knocked down three more points from the field.
But Lynn bounced back with help on the boards by Michael Vidal, who grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and Fountain. The junior out of Orlando, Fla., contributed to 11 of the final 14 LU points as the Blue & White were able to regain their 20-point lead.
Lynn shot 56.3 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range and 79.2 percent from the line while holding Palm Beach Atlantic to 41.7 percent shooting, including a meekly 18.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Jeremy Lampkin and Josh Garcia added 13 points and Smith contributed 11.