LAKELAND - Rob Eldridge scored 15 points and Rion Rayfield added 14 to help Florida Southern pull away for a 72-59 win over Barry at Jenkins Field House Saturday night.
In improving their home winning streak to 11 games, the Moccasins (20-5, 9-2) scored the final 15 points of the first half to take a 32-22 lead at the break, then used a 26-5 run midway through the second half to secure the outcome. The win allowed Florida Southern to re-claim sole possession of first place in the Sunshine State Conference standings after Rollins had lost to Tampa earlier in the day.
The Buccaneers (8-13, 3-8) had taken a 14-12 lead on a three-point play by Erick Nsangou with 14:02 left in the first half and pushed their lead to 22-17 when Nsangou hit a jumper at the 8:41 mark. It was all Florida Southern after that, as the Mocs held the Bucs scoreless until a 3-pointer by Zach Trapp in the first minute of the second half.
Braxton Williams started the big run by Florida Southern with a pair of baskets, the latter a 3-pointer that tied the game at 22. Rayfield then came up with a steal and a layup on the same play, giving Southern the lead, and the half ended with two baskets from Rashaad Singleton in the final minute.
Barry fought back and cut the gap to four with 13:37 remaining and after a Moccasin turnover had a chance to make it a one-possession game. However, the Bucs missed their next shot, and Brandon Jenkins corralled the rebound and fed Rayfield for a quick 3-pointer. Jenkins then scored a bucket himself and John Thompson followed with a pair of free throws to put the Mocs ahead 47-36.
The Bucs were down by 12 with just under nine minutes to play when the Moccasins scored 13 consecutive points, with Eldridge scoring the first six. They also got a five-point possession when Singleton was fouled making a layup, missed the free throw, and grabbed the offensive rebound that set up a 3-pointer by Rayfield.
Singleton finished with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. He also had four blocked shots and broke the school’s single season record in that category with 93. The old mark of 92 was set by Innocent Kere in 1998-99.
Barry was led by Willie Whitfield’s 11 points, while Bryan Chiverton scored 10. Nsangou scored nine, all of them in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Florida Southern returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Saint Leo at 7:30 p.m.
