LAKELAND - Behind a big first half from John Thompson, a big second half from Zach Smith, and 22 points from Rob Eldridge, Florida Southern earned its biggest win of the season by defeating 2nd-ranked South Carolina-Aiken, 83-75, in the final game of The Ledger/Holiday Inn South Classic.
The Moccasins (10-4) led by 10 at halftime, and by as many as 14 early in the second half. They were still ahead by 11 with less than 11 minutes to play before the Pacers (6-2) went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 62. Casey McMasters hit the big shot for USC-Aiken during that spurt, a game-tying 3-pointer with 7:24 remaining.
Preston Fredrick then hit a short jumper to break a long scoring drought by the Moccasins, putting FSC ahead 64-62 with just under seven minutes to play. That started a 13-0 run by the Moccasins, which featured four points apiece by Smith and Eldridge. Smith also had a steal, a blocked shot, two assists and a big offensive rebound during that stretch, which ended with the Mocs ahead 75-62 with 4:34 remaining.
USC-Aiken then scored the next nine points, and whittled the deficit down to five with still more than a minute to play. They eventually cut it to 78-75 on two free throws by Javonte Clanton with 31 seconds remaining, but Eldridge and Rion Rayfield combined to go five-for-six from the free throw line after that, sealing the win for Florida Southern.
It was the Moccasins' first win over a team ranked as high as USC-Aiken since they beat top-ranked Tampa in the 1990 NCAA South Region Tournament. The Pacers had been the highest ranked team to visit Lakeland since Northern Kentucky came to Jenkins Field House in November of 1996, also as the #2 team in the nation.
The Moccasins trailed 10-6 in the early going before scoring 11 straight points to go ahead 17-10. Braxton Williams, Terry Jenkins and Eldridge all hit 3-pointers during that run. Thompson then took over the game for Florida Southern, coming off the bench to score 15 points in the final 13 minutes of the first half. He finished the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Smith had 13 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in a stellar all-around performance. Eldridge had 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
The Mocs also got nine points from Williams (all of them on 3-pointers in the first half). Rayfield scored five points and handed out a game-high seven assists.
USC-Aiken, which lost both its games in the Classic, was led by Javonte Clanton, who scored 19 points while making five-of-nine from the floor, hitting three 3-pointers, and all six of his free throw attempts. Josh Dollard scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, Chris Commons scored 12 points, and Kingsley Oguchi added 11.
USC-Aiken struggled from the field in the second half, making just nine-of-33 shots for a .273 percentage. The Pacers stayed in the game, however, by going 16-for-18 from the line during that span. Oguchi and Clanton were a combined 14-for-14 in the game.
Florida Southern returns to action on Saturday night when it hosts Florida Tech at 7:30.
