SAINT LEO - Rob Eldridge grabbed three clutch offensive rebounds and then sank a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to preserve a 79-76 road win at Saint Leo Wednesday night.
The win was the Moccasins' sixth in a row and raised their record to 12-4, 2-1 in the Sunshine State Conference. Saint Leo fell to 7-8, 1-2 in the SSC.
After the Lions' Jordan Prais hit a three-pointer to trim the Moccasins' lead to 77-76 with 1:42 left in the game, the Moccasins missed back-to-back shots but Eldridge kept the ball in FSC's possession with a pair of offensive rebounds. Following a missed three-pointer by Braxton Williams, though, Prais grabbed the rebound for Saint Leo and was fouled by Zach Smith with 45 seconds left. With a chance to tie the game, Prais missed the free throw and the Moccasins re-gained possession. Eldridge fired a jumper with 17 seconds left that missed, but he collected his own rebound and was fouled, then sank both free throws with 13 seconds left for the final margin. Eldridge had played only eight minutes and had just two points in the first half after picking up two fouls in the first three minutes, but finished with 12 points.
For the third straight game, John Thompson came off the bench and posted a double-double, his fifth of the season. He led the Mocs with 16 points, going eight of nine from the free throw line, and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds. Rion Rayfield added 12 points off the bench and Preston Fredrick added 10 points and hauled down nine rebounds.
The Moccasins enjoyed another excellent night at the free throw line. After making 29 of 33 in Saturday's win over Florida Tech, the Moccasins connected on 26 of 30 against the Lions. Fredrick, Smith, Eldridge and Rayfield were a combined 17 of 17 from the line.
Saturday the Moccasins play at Barry with game time scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. following the televised women's game. The men's game will be broadcast live on the Internet on SportsLine Radio Network (SLRN).
