SAINT LEO - Despite a career-high 30 points from John Thompson, the ninth-ranked Moccasins were not able to shut down Saint Leo and dropped their second straight game, 91-79, Wednesday night in a Sunshine State Conference game at Saint Leo.
Thompson, who scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half, also grabbed 12 rebounds to post his fifth double-double of the season and the 18th of his FSC career. While Thompson was 11 of 19 from the field and hit eight of 10 free throws, the rest of the Moccasins struggled with their shooting and the team finished with a season-low 38.2 field goal percentage (26-68).
Saint Leo (7-10, 2-3 SSC) received 24 points and nine rebounds from Jordan Prais, who is second in the SSC in both scoring and rebounding, but it was the performances by Josue Vazquez, Dominick Robinson and Matt Kendrick that made the difference in the game. Vazquez came into the game averaging 6.5 points and scored 15. Robinson was averaging 6.7 points and notched a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Kendrick, averaging 2.3 points, came off the bench to score 10 points and grab eight rebounds.
The Moccasins trailed 44-40 at halftime. Rion Rayfield hit a three-pointer to start the second half to cut the lead to one. After a Prais basket, Thompson scored to again trim the Lions' lead to one, but the Moccasins would never get any closer. Saint Leo stretched the margin to 56-49 at the 16:15 mark and took it to 63-51 with 13:07 to go. The Lions' biggest lead was 16, at 79-63 with 6:09 left. The Mocs made one final surge that got them as close as seven, 82-75, with 1:40 left, but the Lions closed out the game with a 9-4 run.
Rayfield finished with 19 points and Terry Jenkins added 14, but the Lions held Brandon Jenkins to seven points and kept A.J. Hawkins scoreless.
The Lions outscored the Mocs 31-21 from the free throw line, hitting 31 of 44, while the Mocs connected on 21 of 29.
The Moccasins (13-2, 3-2 in the SSC) are at home Saturday night at 7:30 against Lynn. The game will be broadcast live on the internet on SportsLine Radio Network (SLRN).
