Box Score NICEVILLE — Polk State Basketball left no doubt that it could play with the nation's best. The Eagles' season came to an end in heartbreaking and controversial fashion on Thursday night with a 68-66 loss to top-seeded Daytona State College in the FCSAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Down by 12 in the second half, Polk State used a 15-1 run to take the lead over the 10th-ranked Falcons. After Fray Nguimbi split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 58, Ty Owens used a back cut to get to the rim and give the Eagles a 60-58 lead with less than four minutes remaining.

The final 2:06 featured two ties and two lead changes. After an exchange of baskets, Fray Nguimbi knocked down a 3-pointer with less than two minutes to go to give Polk State a 66-63 lead.

The Falcons scored the game's final five points but the two biggest weren't without controversy. With Polk State leading 66-65 with 26 seconds left, Daytona State's Tyrese Lacey missed the go-ahead 3-pointer. Despite little to no apparent contact, Owens was called for the foul. Lacey made two of the three free throws to give Daytona State the lead.

Jordan Brown would get an open look from deep on the other end but came up short. After the Falcons split a pair of free throws, Cole White's desperation heave at the buzzer from midcourt was no good.

"Some will say this was taken from us by a bad call," Head Coach Brandon Giles said. "But all in all, in the game of life and the game of basketball, you have to control the controllables, so no one else can knock you off your path of success. We did not control the controllables enough this game."

Things couldn't have started much better for Daytona State as it raced to a 20-10 lead. Thanks to triples from Brown and Owens, the Eagles answered with an 8-0 run. Polk State stayed close for the rest of the half but trailed 40-32 at halftime.

Daytona State shot 45% from the field to 34% for Polk State, but the Eagles dominated on the glass. They held a 48-33 edge in rebounding.

Owens led Polk State with a game-high 21 points. Brown and Nguimbi each added 16 points. Nguimbi grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Jaylin Payne led Daytona State with 16 points. Isaiah Dorceus added 14 points, 12 assists, and six steals.

The loss ends the 60th season of Polk State Basketball. The eighth-seeded Eagles finish with a 19-12 record in Head Coach Brandon Giles' eighth season. The Falcons will move on to face either No. 4 seed Gulf Coast State College or Florida SouthWestern State College.

"This was a resilient group of kids," Giles added. "I'm proud of this group for the commitment to the program. I hope life lessons were taken from this 2024-25 season."