LAKELAND - Freshman Damon Ellison came of age Monday night, and John Thompson made the type of play that All-Americans make to win ball games. Florida Southern needed both of them in the closing seconds to pull off an 88-86, come-from behind win over Lake Erie that kept the 2nd-ranked Moccasins undefeated on the season.
Florida Southern’s 10th straight win wasn’t supposed to be this difficult, but it was, as the Storm (4-11) led the Moccasins for most of the first half, then rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to re-take the lead with just over a minute to play. Darnell Campbell's 3-pointer from the top of the arc with the shot clock at two seconds gave Lake Erie an 86-83 lead with 1:14 remaining, setting the stage for a dramatic ending at the other end of the court.
Thompson got the Mocs one point on their next possession before Ethan Bradshaw missed a 3-pointer for the Storm with 26 seconds to play. After a timeout, the Mocs got the ball to Brandon Jenkins in the right corner, but his game-tying shot came up short. Ellison was able to grab the rebound on the edge of the lane and was fouled by Bradshaw with seven seconds remaining. The freshman guard calmly sank both free throws, tying the game at 86.
That’s when Thompson made his big play. Following another Florida Southern timeout, the Mocs’ lone senior stole the inbounds pass from Antonio Kidd, who was then forced to foul him right under the basket to prevent an easy layup. It didn’t matter. Thompson, who was named a preseason All-American by the Sporting News, hit both free throws with 5.4 seconds on the clock, giving Florida Southern an 88-86 lead.
Lake Erie still had a chance to tie or win the game at the end, but the Storm were unable to get a shot off before time expired. Pushing the ball up the left sideline, Kidd appeared ready to take a 3-point shot as soon as he was in range, but defensive pressure by Preston Fredrick forced him to pass the ball across the court. It turned out to be one pass too many as the clock ran out before Lake Erie could even take a shot.
Lake Erie came into the game averaging less than 63 points and shooting just over 40 percent, but Monday night, the Storm topped 70 points for only the fourth time in 15 games, equaling their season-high with 86 points, and shooting 52 percent. They also went 10-for-21 from 3-point range, and had three players with 20 or more points. Bradshaw and Kidd each had 21, while Campbell scored 20.
The Mocs had six players in double figures, led by Rion Rayfield’s 21, but in the end, it was Ellison and Thompson who made the biggest plays, with Rayfield on the bench with five fouls.
Florida Southern trailed nearly the entire first half, and when Bradshaw hit a 3-pointer with 7:27 on the clock, Lake Erie was ahead 33-22. The Mocs then reeled off 13 consecutive points, with the final six coming from Terry Jenkins, who had been held scoreless to that point.
Another 3-pointer by Bradshaw and a jumper by Bradshaw gave Lake Erie the lead again, before Fredrick, Terry Jenkins and Brandon Jenkins all scored in the final 1:16 before halftime to put the Mocs up 41-38 at the break.
The Moccasins were able to extend their lead to 12 with seven minutes gone in the second half, and appeared to be pulling away before the Storm fought back. Still trailing by nine with less than six minutes to play, the Storm got consecutive 3-pointers from Kidd and Campbell, and another 3-pointer by Bradshaw to make it a 2-point game with a little over four minutes to play.
Rayfield then hit a 3-point shot for the Mocs, giving them an 80-75 lead, but a 5-point play by Bradshaw tied the game almost immediately after that. The junior guard was fouled by Rayfield on a layup, and when Rayfield was whistled for a technical on top of it, Bradshaw converted three straight free throws to knot the score at 80 with 2:46 remaining.
That gave Rayfield his final two fouls, but the Mocs were able to come back even with their leading scorer on the sideline for the rest of the night. Before leaving, he was good on eight-of-12 shots overall and five-of-seven from long range.
Terry Jenkins scored 18 points, while Thompson had 12 points and 10 rebounds. After a slow start, Brandon Jenkins finished with 11 points, as did A.J. Hawkins. Ellison rounded out the Moccasins in double figures with 10 points, none bigger than his two free throws with seven seconds to play.
The win gives the Moccasins their ninth 10-0 start in team history, and its first since 2004-05. It also puts them in the championship game of the Holiday Inn South/Ledger Tournament, where they’ll face St. Joseph’s (IN) on Tuesday night at 7:30.
The Pumas slipped by Missouri-St. Louis, 89-83, in the first game Monday, led by 17 points apiece from Mark Lake and Marcus Jackson. The Pumas led from start to finish, but were up by more than eight at only one point in the second half.
