LAKELAND - Terry Jenkins needed less than one minute to turn his night around, and in so doing, kept Florida Southern headed in the same direction it's been going all season long. Jenkins' 3-pointer with 39.3 seconds to play broke a 75-75 tie, and Rion Rayfield scored a season-high 27 points to lead the 2nd-ranked Moccasins to an 81-77 win over Florida Tech in their second Sunshine State Conference game of the season.
Now 12-0 overall, the Moccasins never trailed in the second half, but neither did they put away the Panthers until the very end. Jenkins had scored just five points all night before the final minute, but when the Mocs needed a game-winning shot, the fourth-year junior delivered, draining a 3-pointer from the right corner after taking an inbounds pass from Rayfield.
The Panthers (10-3, 0-2) still had plenty of time to either tie the game or re-claim the lead, but good defense by Rayfield forced an errant 3-point shot by Simon Cummings, and Jenkins grabbed the rebound. After being fouled on the play, he put down both free throws to give the Mocs an 80-75 lead with 25 seconds to play. That was enough to secure the win and give the Mocs a 12-0 record for the first time since 2003 when they started 16-0.
Rayfield hit the 20-point mark for the third time in the last four games, going nine-for-14 from the floor, five-for-eight from 3-point range, and four-for-six from the line. He also had five assists and four steals, and the Mocs needed every one of his 27 points. They also needed some clutch shots from a few others as well.
The Moccasins led 39-33 at halftime and pushed their lead to 11 early in the second half, but the Panthers kept chipping away until a 3-pointer by Cummings and tip-in by Edgars Eglitis got Tech within 55-54 at the 11:35 mark. Cameron Wooten stifled the comeback though by hitting a big jump shot for the Mocs, and Rayfield followed with a 3-pointer to get the lead back to six.
Demetrius Harvey responded with a 3-pointer for Florida Tech, slicing the lead in half, but this time A.J. Hawkins stepped up. After knocking down a jumper to put the Mocs up by five, the sophomore forward came up with a steal near midcourt and got the ball quickly to Rayfield for a break-away layup that had the Mocs lead at 65-57 with 9:30 remaining. Hawkins then stopped another threat by the Panthers by taking a charge in the paint that gave the ball right back to Florida Southern.
Florida Tech still found a way to come back, and with a 10-2 run that ended with another Harvey 3-pointer, the game was tied at 67 with less than seven minutes to play. One again, it was Hawkins who came up big for Florida Southern, as he scored on two of the next three Moccasin possessions to give them a seven-point lead.
It still wasn’t enough to put the game out of reach. The Panthers made another push, scoring eight of the next nine points in the game, tying the score at 75 when Cummings made two free throws with 1:02 remaining. That’s when Terry Jenkins came through to finally give Florida Southern the win.
Early in the game, the Moccasins relied on their bench to get them through some rough patches and keep the game close. With two very early fouls, Hawkins was limited to two minutes in the first half, and John Thompson had just one point during the first half while also battling foul issues. That meant increased minutes for Preston Fredrick, who responded with six points and two steals during that time. The Mocs also got six first-half points from Damon Ellison, and Jon Gardner and Brett Bailey saw significant playing time as well.
Defensively, the Mocs allowed the Panthers to shoot 55 percent from the floor, the best percentage against Florida Southern this year, but they also forced 20 turnovers, their best total since the third game of the season when St. Ambrose had 21.
Meanwhile, the Mocs shot 52 percent themselves, and were 7-for-15 from line range.
Rayfield (27), Jenkins (10) and Thompson (10) all scored in double figures for Florida Southern. Florida Tech had five players in double figures, led by Cummings with 23, Justin Sedlak with 14, and Harvey with 12.
Florida Southern will be at home again on Wednesday night when it hosts Eckerd College at 7:30 p.m.
