LAKELAND - The defending Sunshine State Conference Tournament champion Moccasins made it clear they are serious about winning a second straight tournament title, as they eliminated Florida Tech 105-66 Wednesday night in a first-round game at Jenkins Field House.
The win advances the 20th-ranked Moccasins to the tournament semifinals in Ft. Lauderdale Saturday at 5 p.m. against arch-rival Tampa. The Spartans eliminated Barry 61-50. In the other first-round games, Rollins defeated Saint Leo 71-47 and Nova Southeastern survived a 43-point performance by Lynn's Chris Hall to beat the Knights 89-84 in overtime. Rollins and Nova Southeastern play in Saturday's second semifinal contest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's winners meet for the championship Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
A 14-6 surge in the final four minutes of the first half gave the Moccasins a 44-32 advantage at halftime. A 16-4 run in the first five minutes of the second half allowed the Moccasins to double their margin to 24, 60-36, and it kept getting bigger. At the halfway point of the second period, the lead was 33, 77-44, and it grew to 43, 95-52, with 4:38 remaining.
It's the fifth time this season the Moccasins have scored over 100 points in a game and their 39-point margin of victory is their second largest of the season, topped only by the 105-65 win over Florida Memorial Dec. 15.
The win improves the Moccasins' record to 25-6, giving them their highest win total since the 2002-03 team went 26-5.
With 63 of their points coming off the bench, the Moccasins showed once again how much depth they have. Rion Rayfield led the Moccasins with 18 points off the bench and Terry Jenkins added 16, as each of them hit four three-pointers. Brandon Jenkins led the starters with 16 points, including a perfect six-for-six night from the free throw line. Preston Fredrick grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and scored eight points in 16 minutes off the bench, while Rashaad Singleton scored nine off the bench. All 15 players in uniform played at least five minutes.
The Moccasins shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 52.9 percent, while holding Florida Tech to 35.4 percent shooting.
Saturday's semifinal contest against Tampa will be broadcast live on the Internet through SportsLine Radio Network.
