Box Score LAKELAND - Rion Rayfield scored a career-high 38 points and tied a school record with 11 three-point field goals, and Florida Southern made 22 long-range shots as a team in a 102-90 win over Rollins.
The two teams entered the game tied for first place in the Sunshine State Conference, but Florida Southern (19-4, 8-1) pulled ahead in the standings with its 13th straight win. While Rayfield tied the school's individual 3-point record, the Moccasins also set a team record by going 22-for-43 behind the arc. Rayfield's 11 bombs equaled a mark set by Tim Gatz against North Florida on January 14, 1995, the same night Florida Southern first set the team record of 16. Make that the old team record, which the Mocs had duplicated twice last year before finally breaking it on Saturday.
Rollins (15-5, 7-2) wasn't shy about shooting the "3" either. The Tars were 15-for-35, with Nick Wolf going seven-for-10 en route to his own 30-point night. He finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first six-and-a-half minutes, the lead changed hands four times with two other ties, but a 3-pointer by Terry Jenkins at the 13:33 mark actually gave Florida Southern a lead it would never relinquish. It was one of his four 3-pointers in the game, the same number Braxton Williams made. The Mocs got two more triples from Brandon Jenkins and one from Rob Eldridge.
Rayfield was the big gun however. The redshirt sophomore took just one shot from inside the arc and went 11-for-17 behind it. He also hit all three of his free throws (which came after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt), had three rebounds and four assists.
By halftime, Rayfield had already scored 20 as the Mocs led 50-37. When the Tars eventually cut the gap to five with less than 12 minutes to play, Rayfield pushed it back to eight with one of his 3-pointers, and when the Tars got within two with 3:25 remaining, Rayfield again answered from long distance. That shot gave the Mocs a 90-85 lead and Williams followed with another 3-pointer to quickly give the Mocs an eight-point lead.
Rollins again got close when Wolf hit a 3-pointer with 55 seconds on the clock, making the score 94-90. The Mocs, however, closed out the win by scoring the final eight points, including two free throws by Williams immediately after Wolf's 3-pointer, followed by a steal and break-away basket by Zach Smith.
Williams scored 14 on the night, while both Jenkins brothers scored 13. The Mocs also got eight points and eight rebounds from John Thompson. They all contributed to the Mocs' first 100-point game in conference play since a 101-63 win over Saint Leo in 2003. It was also the first time Florida Southern hit triple digits against Rollins since the 1988 SSC Tournament, and their most points against the Tars in a regular season game since 1966.
Rollins got 32 from Wolf, 22 from Jeremy Sharpe, 12 from Craig Reichel and 10 from Zach Pancratz who also had seven assists and three steals. The Tars out-scored the Moccasins 53-52 in the second half, but struggled from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes, going just five-for-17.
Florida Southern will be on the road in its next game on Wednesday night, travelling to Melbourne to take on Florida Tech at 7:30 p.m.
