After six straight Sunshine State Conference games, Florida Southern will play it's final non-conference opponent on Saturday as the Moccasins host the Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic University. The Mocs have already defeated PBA once this year, and a sweep of the Sailfish would give them a league-best 16-2 overall record before the first NCAA South Region rankings are announced next Wednesday.
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Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #15, John Thompson (15.5 ppg., 8.9 rebs., .554 fg%)
F, #32, A.J. Hawkins (7.2 ppg., 4.5 rebs., .627 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (13.1 pts., 5.1 rebs., 5.1 asts., .467 3-pt.%)
G, #2, Terry Jenkins (14.1 pts., 2.8 rebs., 2.9 asts., .456 3-pt.%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (17.6 pts., 2.8 rebs., 5.4 asts., 1.9 steals, .444 3-pt.%)
Palm Beach Atlantic Probable Starters:
F, # 31, Phil Pejovic (9.0 pts., 3.6 rebs., .359 3-pt.%)
C, #00, David Gabriel (4.4 pts., 4.4 rebs., .577 fg%)
G, #3, Jonathan Lawrence (12.4 pts., 3.6 rebs., 2.2 asts.)
G, #4, Chris Joseph (12.3 pts., 4.7 rebs., 2.5 asts.)
G, #24, DeAndre Williams (7.8 pts., 2.8 rebs.)
SERIES HISTORY... Florida Southern is 12-3 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic, including a 66-56 victory in West Palm Beach on December 12. That game saw the Moccasins fall behind 11-0 before pulling away late for the win. The 66 points are the fewest the Mocs have scored this year, though in each of the last two seasons, Florida Southern had its highest point total of the year against the Sailfish. Those two games both came at Jenkins Field House where the Mocs won 115-65 two years ago, and 115-85 last year. The Sailfish are 0-7 all-time against the Mocs in Lakeland, where Florida Southern has scored at least 88 points in every game, and over 100 in four of them.
ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... The Moccasins will no doubt be on their guard against a let-down after staging a dramatic win over Tampa on Wednesday night. Trailing by 22 with just over 11 minutes to play, the Mocs rallied to force overtime before completing a come-from-behind, 95-89 victory. Now 15-2 on the season, and 11-0 at home, Florida Southern is currently ranked #16 in the country, but will be focused on the South Region rankings scheduled to be released late next Wednesday. Among the teams Florida Southern is competing with for the top position are Arkansas Tech (currently undefeated and ranked #1 in the country) and Valdosta State from the Gulf South Conference, SIAC front-runner Clark Atlanta, and SSC rival Rollins. The Moccasins are still among the highest scoring teams in the country with an 88.3 average, and after a slow start against Tampa (1-for-7 in the first half), the Mocs are still averaging better than nine 3-pointers per game. Brandon Jenkins, Terry Jenkins and Rion Rayfield all rank in the top five of the SSC in 3-point shooting percentage, and post players John Thompson and A.J. Hawkins both rank among the top eight in field goal percentage. Brandon Jenkins is also on the verge of reaching the 1,000-point mark in his career, and would get there with 24 points against PBA. As a team, Florida Southern ranks second in the league behind Rollins in field goal percentage, first by a wide margin in 3-point percentage, and third in free throw percentage. Their .450 percentage from behind the arc would be a school record, breaking the mark of .441 they set in 1990. It's not just the starters either. Reserve guards Cameron Wooten, Damon Ellison and Jay Hubble are a combined 17-for-30 from long range.
ABOUT PBA... With Flagler having joined the Peach Belt Conference, Palm Beach Atlantic is the only full-fledged Division II independent in the South Region. They've played a varied schedule, but the Sailfish are 0-9 this year against schools from the Sunshine State Conference after beating six different SSC teams last year. Making things more difficult for the Sailfish is a schedule that has had them play 12 of their first 18 games on the road, including Division I opponents Stetson and North Florida. They have an overall record of 2-16, averaging 63.8 points per game and allowing 75.4. Ten different players have started at least once this year, with leading scorer Jonathan Lawrence (12.4 ppg.) the only one to start all 18. He's coming off a career-high 25-point performance at Nova Southeastern on Wednesday where the Sailfish lost, 76-68. Chris Joseph, who returned to the lineup against the Sharks after missing three straight games, is averaging 12.3 points, and had a team-leading 14 points and nine rebounds in this year's first meeting with Florida Southern. Hunter Ross also averages double figure points (10.7) and leads the team in rebounding (a 5.7 average) and free throw percentage (.770), while starting 11 games and coming off the bench in seven others. PBA has only two players who have made more than ten 3-pointers, with Phil Pejovic the team leader with 42. He shoots 36 percent from that distance, but overall the Sailfish only have a .265 percentage that ranks last in Division II. By way of comparison, Florida Southern is third.
