Box Score DAYTONA BEACH — Polk State Basketball went back and forth with No. 5 Daytona State College in the first half on Tuesday night. In the second half, however, the Falcons flexed their muscles en route to a 116-85 victory.

Polk State (10-9, 2-4 Citrus Conference) trailed by as many as eight points in the first half but responded with a 10-0 run. Dominick Nelson capped the run with a driving layup to give the Eagles a 34-32 lead.

That would serve as Polk State's final lead of the night but it did draw even on two other occasions. After Malachi Stevens' 3-pointer from the corner tied the game at 42, TrayVon Osborne's jam evened the score at 44 apiece.

Daytona State used a three-point play with less than three seconds to play in the first half to take a 47-44 lead to the locker room. That was the beginning of a 13-0 run for the Falcons.

From there, Polk State never got closer than 11. Daytona State could do little wrong in the second half, finishing with 69 points over the final 20 minutes. The Falcons shot 59% and 8-for-12 from deep in the second half.

"It was an ugly second half performance by my team," Polk State Head Coach Brandon Giles said. "We came out of the locker room and decided to play selfishly. Selfish basketball will get you beat by 30."

Stevens finished with a career-high 27 points on an efficient 10-for-15 shooting. Nelson added 14 points. Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in with 11 points. Josue Grullon led six Falcons in double figures with 22 points.

Kylin Green and Breylin Garcia each added 17 points. Garcia led all rebounders with 11.

Polk State will return home for a pivotal Citrus Conference contest against Indian River State College on Saturday. The contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Saturday's game will also be the Polk County Student Appreciation Game. Polk County students of all grades will receive free admission and a hot dog by showing their student ID.