LAKELAND - Linc Darner would have had a hard time scripting a better way for Florida Southern to begin its season opener against Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Wednesday night. The Moccasins scored on their first five possessions, raced to a 15-0 lead in a little over four minutes, and snuffed out any thought the Gallitos had of staging a rally with their 3-point shooting. All and all, a very good start for the nation’s 8th-ranked team, as Florida Southern rolled to a 103-61 win.
It was also a good start for preseason All-American John Thompson, who played only 18 minutes in the blowout, but still had time to score 24 points (going 11-for-15 from the floor), grab 10 rebounds, hand out three assists and make two steals. Nearly all of that came in the first half, as the Mocs led 57-26 at the break, and subbed liberally the rest of the night. A total of 15 Moccasins saw action, with the 20 minutes played by Brandon Jenkins the most of any of them.
Jenkins had a big game too, scoring nine points to go along with four rebounds and seven assists. Rion Rayfield added 11 points and five assists, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc. The game also marked the return of Cameron Wooten, who took a redshirt year in 2008-09, but scored 13 points while coming off the bench.
The Gallitos (0-3) were never in the game after turning the ball over on four of their first five possessions. That gave Thompson three early baskets, Terry Jenkins one, and Rayfield his first 3-pointer of the night. By the time Wooten scored at the 15:51 mark, it was 15-0.
The Gallitos put together a solid stretch after that and twice got the deficit down to eight, the second time with 8:41 to play in the first half. The Mocs, however, got a 3-pointer from Rayfield, and a steal from Brandon Jenkins that set up another 3-pointer by Wooten, and the lead was quickly up to 14 (32-18). The Mocs then completed a 10-0 run with two free throws by Preston Fredrick and a layup by Thompson.
Florida Southern would go on to out-score Rio Piedras 20-6 over the final six minutes of the first half, with Thompson scoring eight of those points. He had 22 by halftime.
The Mocs then opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Terry Jenkins, got the lead up to 40 on Thompson’s final bucket of the night with 15:58 to play, and were ahead 86-36 when David Wood hit a jumper at the 11:29 mark. The lead never dropped below 38 the rest of the night, and Brett Bailey delighted the crowd by scoring four straight points in the final minute to get Florida Southern over the century mark.
Florida Southern finished the game shooting 55 percent from the floor and was 8-for-18 from long range. They also scored a whopping 39 points off turnovers, and got loads of game experience for all of their newcomers. Among them were Wood, Bailey and Jon Gardner, who all had the identical totals of six points and five rebounds.
Rio-Piedras was led by Angel Acevedo, who scored 15 points, while Pedro Minaya had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Florida Southern will face another team from Puerto Rico in its next game, taking on UPR-Bayamon next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
