Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern fell into a massive hole Wednesday night due to Tampa's 3-point shooting, but it was the Moccasins' long-range ability that eventually brought them all the way back. Trailing by 22 midway through the second half, the Mocs mounted a furious comeback to force overtime, and never trailed thereafter in a 95-89 win over the Spartans.
Rion Rayfield led the Moccasins (15-2, 5-2 Sunshine State Conference) with 22 points, but Brandon Jenkins was the man of the moment. After scoring on a layup with 21 seconds left in regulation to get the Mocs within one, he drove the lane again to tie the game with 4.6 seconds on the clock after the Spartans had been able to make only one-of-two free throws. Tampa's desperation 3-point attempt from near midcourt was off the mark, and the two teams went to overtime tied at 82.
The last bucket by Jenkins, who scored 16 points and had nine assists, marked the first time Wednesday night's game had even been tied. When Terry Jenkins hit a 3-pointer just six seconds into overtime, it gave the Mocs their first lead and they held it the rest of the way.
The 22-point second-half comeback is believed to be the greatest in team history, though Florida Southern did rally from a 22-point first-half deficit to beat Eckerd in 1974. The Spartans (8-7, 3-4) actually led by 22 on two different occasions Wednesday, the second time at 65-43 with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Mocs then went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes, getting two 3-pointers from Rayfield and one from Jay Hubble. They also got a conventional three-point play from Brandon Jenkins, as well as baskets from John Thompson that started and ended the run.
Four straight points by Rashad Callaway, who scored a game-high 29 points, got Tampa's lead back to double digits, but Terry Jenkins answered with a second-chance 3-pointer, and the Mocs were off and running again. He later hit another triple with 2:26 remaining that pulled FSC within 79-76, and after a Callaway layup at the 2:01 mark, Rayfield made two free throws to keep them within striking distance for Brandon Jenkins in the closing seconds.
Once overtime started, the elder Jenkins (Terry) continued his late-game shooting binge with a 3-pointer just seconds after the tip-off. Callaway missed a tying attempt for the Spartans before a Brandon Jenkins assist led to Thompson layup and an 87-82 lead.
Thompson and Rayfield then did the rest of Florida Southern's scoring at the free throw line, as Thompson finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Rayfield had his team-leading sixth 20-point game of the season. Thompson also had a blocked shot on a layup attempt by Tampa's Glyn Hunter with 39 seconds left in the second half that prevented the Spartans from taking a five-point lead.
Florida Southern's final point total (95) was its largest in the series since Tampa re-instated men's basketball in the early 1980's after an 12-year hiatus. The last time the Moccasins scored that many points against the Spartans came in a 95-88 victory on February 24, 1965, the year before Jenkins Field House opened.
Tampa came into the game ranked last in the Sunshine State Conference in field goal percentage and next to last in 3-point percentage, but the Spartans owned the first half on Wednesday by doing just the opposite. The Spartans shot 57 percent from the floor and were even better from behind the arc, making eight-of-11 long-range attempts to take a 43-27 lead at halftime.
Meanwhile, the Moccasins shot just 36 percent overall, and were one-for-seven behind the arc.
In the second half, the Spartans still shot very well (55 percent overall and 50 percent from 3-point range), but the Mocs were better, especially in the final 11 minutes. During that stretch, they were 13-for-16 from the floor, and five-for-seven from 3-point distance. Just as important to the final tally, Florida Southern was perfect from the free throw line in the second half (10-for-10), and at one point had a streak of 21 in a row that carried into overtime.
While Rayfield led the Mocs with 22, Tampa had two players top 20 points: Callaway with 29, and Ashton Graham with 21. Callaway's total boosted his league-leading average to 23.7, while Graham's total was a career-high.
Graham was one of two big lineup changes made by Tampa coach Richard Schmidt. The sophomore guard was making his first start of the season and had scored only 37 points prior to Wednesday. He went seven-for-13 from the floor and three-of-four on 3-point tries. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing 44 minutes. The other was Corey Pelot, who also made his first start and played 32 minutes.
Graham, Pelot and Rudy Jean all hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half to blow open a nine-point game and give the Spartans their big halftime cushion. It wasn't enough, however, as Tampa went on to suffer its fourth straight loss.
Florida Southern will step out of conference in its next game, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
