Box Score WINTER HAVEN, Fla - The Polk State basketball team brought a competitive edge and tenacity to the court to start off the second semester of play Saturday afternoon. However, a second half surge caused the Eagles to be topped by the Eastern Florida State Titans 81-76 in their Central Conference opener. The loss snapped a streak of two-straight conference openers won by the Eagles.

The battle of the boards was crucial to the outcome of the contest, as the Titans (11-5, 1-0 Central) out-rebounded the Eagles (5-10, 0-1 Central) 58-33 and outscored Polk on second-chance points 19-5. 

"We have to put a full game together in conference play," shared Polk Head Coach Brandon Giles. "We didn't do enough of the little things, which resulted in us getting exposed on the interior."

The Eagles played a strong defensive opening 20 minutes, holding EFSC that came into the game shooting just north of 48% on the season to just 26.3% (10/38) from the field in the first half, including 14.3% (2-14) from behind the arc.

Polk did an extremely efficient job of getting to the rim and drawing contact in the first half, going a perfect 11-11 from the charity stripe. Freshman guard Dominick Nelson was prolific at the line in the first half, shooting 6-6 to lead all Eagles with 8 points at the half, where Polk carried a 34-29 advantage over Eastern Florida.

While the Titans continued its woes from the perimeter in the second half, failing to make a single three in the final 20 minutes of action, EFSC found dominance in the interior, shooting 56.3% (18-32) in the paint in the second half. The Eagles also saw an improvement offensively in the second half, raising their overall shooting percentage from 31.3% (10-32) in the first half to 45.7% (16-35) in the second half, which included a 42.9% (6-14) clip from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Rod Jones erupted for 20 of his team-best 22 points in the second half. Jones finished the game 9-15 from the field and dished out a team-leading five assists.

With the second half tightly contested, the Titans were able to earn a 71-64 lead with 2:55 to go in the second half that proved too much for the Eagles to rally from, as the remainder of the contest stayed a multiple possession game for Polk.

Jones was joined in double-digits by sophomore guard George Pridgett, who scored 15 points after knocking down a trio of threes in the contest. Sophomore forward Ashton Howard totaled 10 points off the bench while also registering two blocks. Sophomore forward Jordan Smalls scored nine and hauled in a team-high seven boards in his first start of the season.

Polk looks to rebound in Central play next Wednesday night, as the Eagles host No. 19 Daytona State. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.