LAKELAND - Florida Southern scored over 100 points again, but for a good portion of Wednesday night's game against St. Ambrose, the Moccasins were more concerned about just getting a win. Once Terry Jenkins got going, they didn't have to worry about either. With Jenkins scoring 19 of his career-high 21 points in the second half, and Rion Rayfield becoming their career 3-point leader, the Mocs downed the Fighting Bees, 105-72, for their third straight 100-point game.
The 4th-ranked Moccasins have not only started the season 3-0, they are averaging just over 106 points per game. It's only the second time in team history the Mocs have reached the century mark in three straight games, and the first time they've done so in a single season. The only other occurrence came in the final game of 1971 and the first two games the following year.
In each of their first two games of this season, the Mocs were well on their way to triple digits by halftime, but that wasn’t the case in this one. In fact, they trailed 18-6 before taking their first lead with 13 consecutive points. They never trailed again, but the Bees (4-2) kept it close all the way until halftime when two late free throws by John Thompson gave FSC a 36-31 lead at the break.
The second half? That was a different story. Shooting 66 percent from the floor and 75 percent from 3-point distance (12-for-16), Florida Southern put 69 points on the board, with much of it coming from the hands of Jenkins and Rayfield.
The Moccasins scored the first 13 points of the second half, with Jenkins hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first minute. Two of those came after St. Ambrose turnovers and were set up by Rayfield, who had nine assists in addition to 17 points. When Terry Jenkins tired of shooting (or perhaps allowed others to do so), it was Brandon Jenkins who scored, hitting back-to-back jumpers to complete the Mocs’ early second-half spurt.
Trailing 55-45, the Bees fought back to get the deficit to 10 with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Mocs went on another big run (21-4), this one sparked by Rayfield. He scored the final 11 points during that four-minute stretch, the last of them coming on his record-breaking 3-pointer. In a little over two years, the junior guard has already made 197 shots from behind the arc, one more than the previous record holder, Mike McManamey, who played four seasons from 1996-99.
Rayfield went 5-for-7 on 3-point attempts Wednesday, and Terry Jenkins was 6-for-8. David Wood and Jay Hubble each made two, and Cameron Wooten added one, giving Florida Southern a total of 16 in the game. They came on 27 attempts, a .593 percentage that stands as one of the best in school history.
It was Hubble who eventually put the Mocs over 100, when the sophomore drained a 3-pointer from the top of key to make the score 101-64 with 1:53 remaining.
The strong finish was enough the make the Mocs forget about the way they started. They trailed 8-0 before Rayfield hit a 3-pointer at the 16:55 mark, and were still down by 12 (18-6) almost seven minutes into the game. When they started to rally though, it was neither Jenkins, Jenkins, Rayfield or Thompson who got them going in the right direction. Instead, it was Wood who started the Mocs’ first 13-0 run, giving them a much-needed spark.
Wood started that run with a 3-pointer out of the right corner, and came right back for another bucket after the Bees turned it over. He then scored again to cut the gap to 18-13, before John Thompson hit back-to-back short jump shots to get FSC within one. A bucket by Brandon Jenkins gave them a 19-18 lead with 8:32 to play in the half, and though St. Ambrose would tie the game three times after that, the Mocs never let them get back in front.
Wood scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half, helping keep the Mocs afloat until the veterans took over early in the second half. He was one of five Moccasins in double figures, led by Terry Jenkins’ 21 points and Rayfield's 17. Thompson added 13 points and six rebounds, while Brandon Jenkins scored 11 with a career-high 11 rebounds as well.
St. Ambrose was led by Mike Kennedy, who scored 19 points, while Chris Donnelly had 15. Bryce Davis chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.
Both teams shot 53 percent from the floor, but the Bees were only 3-for-17 from 3-point range, 5-for-12 at the free throw line, and committed 21 turnovers to Florida Southern's six.
Florida Southern will hit the road for the rest of its Thanksgiving break, taking on two teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament. Their first stop is Saturday against South Carolina-Aiken at 1 p.m., and their second is Sunday at 4 p.m., against Armstrong Atlantic State (GA).
