Box Score DAVIE - John Thompson scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the second half to propel Florida Southern to an 80-59 win over Tampa here in the semifinals of the 2009 BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
Thompson finished with 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds as the Moccasins, now 26-6, advance to play in the championship game Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of the Nova Southeastern/Rollins late game. Florida Southern will be gunning for it's 19th SSC Tournament Championship. The Moccasins won both regular season SSC games from Nova Southeastern and split with Rollins.
Ranked second in the South Region going into the SSC Tournament, the Moccasins are virtually assured of making the NCAA Tournament and could be the host for the South Regional Mar. 14-15 and 17. The NCAA selection announcement will come Sunday at approximately 9 p.m. and can be viewed on the Internet at www.ncaa.com
"J.T. (Thompson) played an unbelievable game tonight," said FSC head coach Linc Darner. "His rebounding was a big key to our win."
Thompson had just three points and nine rebounds at the half, but was 8-for-8 from the field with 12 rebounds in the final period.
"I knew if I continued to play hard, the shots would fall," said Thompson. "and I wanted to grab as many rebounds as possible and shut Tampa down."
Tampa, 16-12, led 12-11 with 12:23 to go in the first period before a three-pointer by Terry Jenkins, put the Mocs ahead 13-11 at the 11:32 mark. The Spartans kept it close and trailed 17-15 with 9:07 before the Moccasins went on a 14-2 run and then took a 38-29 lead at intermission.
The second half was the John Thompson show capped off by the Mocs' final eight points. He finished 8-for-11 from the field as the Mocs shot 42 from the field while limiting Tampa to 31 percent.
"We wanted our guards to match up with their guards and we did that," said Darner. "and once J.T. got going that helped us dominate in the second half."
Rob Eldridge added 16 points and six rebounds for the Mocs while Terry Jenkins and Rion Rayfield each contributed 11 points. Florida Southern netted 10-of-21 three-pointers while Tampa was limited to 4-of-18 treys.
The Spartans were led by Johnathon Ball's 18 points.
The Moccasins' 26 wins have matched the win total of the 2002-03 team that went 26-5.
Sunday's championship game, in which the Moccasins will be going for their 19th SSC Tournament title, will be broadcast live on the Internet on SportsLine Radio Network. The championship game is being tape-delayed broadcast on Bright House Sports Network March 13 at 2 p.m. and March 14 at 8 p.m. Comcast Charter Sports Southeast will also tape-delay broadcast the game on March 16 at 9 p.m.
