PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Benedict College Tigers rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to tie the game, but Palm Beach Atlantic scored the next 10 points and went on to take a 97-90 victory on Thursday night.

The Tigers fell to 8-4 on the season, dropping their second straight game on their Florida road trip. Palm Beach Atlantic improved to 6-5.

Jordan Smith led the Tigers with 17 points, while Rydealous Taylor added 15 points. Christopher Spencer and Lafonzo Smith scored 14 points each, while Brennan Reynard chipped in with 13 points. Lafonzo Smith led the Tigers with nine rebounds.

Bakari Warthen led the Sailfish with 26 points and Derick Yepes had 20 points.

After missing all seven 3-point attempts in the first half, the Tigers made 6-of-13 3-pointers in the second half.

Warthen hit a buzzer-beater from beyond half court to give the Sailfish a 47-30 lead at the half. The Tigers came out and scored the first six points of the second half, getting a dunk by Lafonzo Smith and a 3-pointer by Taylor. After the Sailfish increased the lead to 53-37, the Tigers sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers by Taylor around a free throw by Lafonzo Smith to cut the lead to 53-44.

The Tigers used an eight-point run to cut the lead to 63-58. The Sailfish held a 76-68 lead with 6:19 left in the game, but the Tigers got 3-points by Jordan Smith and Taylor and a three-point play by Lafonzo Smith to tie the game at 77. The Sailfish scored the next 10 points, getting a 3-pointer by Milos Kostic and a 3-point play by Yepes. The Tigers cut the lead to 87-82 on a layup by Justin Metze. The Sailfish got two free throws and a layup by Yepes for a 91-82 lead with 49 seconds left.

The Tigers are off until Dec. 30, when they will take on College of Faith in an exhibition game at 7:30 p.m.