Over the next three weeks, Florida Southern will play four of its six games on the road, and that stretch begins Wednesday night in Davie when the Moccasins face Nova Southeastern. Florida Southern (16-2, 5-2) still trails Rollins by one game in the Sunshine State Conference standings, but the Mocs are only one game ahead of four other teams, with Nova among them.
Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #15, John Thompson (15.3 ppg., 8.8 rebs., .548 fg%)
F, #32, A.J. Hawkins (6.9 ppg., 4.4 rebs., .616 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (12.8 pts., 4.9 rebs., 5.0 asts., .474 3-pt.%)
G, #2, Terry Jenkins (13.8 pts., 2.8 rebs., 2.9 asts., .455 3-pt.%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (17.7 pts., 2.7 rebs., 5.2 asts., 1.9 steals, .463 3-pt.%)
Nova Southeastern Probable Starters:
F, #5, Alex Gynes (12.5 pts., 6.2 rebs., 1.3 asts.)
C, #20, Ross Allsop (8.9 pts., 6.3 rebs., 1.2 blocks, .560 fg%)
G, #2, John Brooks (11.6 pts., 1.5 rebs., .900 ft%)
G, #10, Brian Cahill (8.2 pts., 3.3 rebs., 3.1 asts., .431 3-pt.%)
G, #12, Cody Dennison (6.0 pts., 2.3 rebs., 2.5 asts.)
SERIES HISTORY... Florida Southern leads the all-time series 14-3, and swept the Sharks last year with a pair of seven-point wins. In the 69-62 win at Nova, the Moccasins trailed for most of the game before out-scoring the Sharks 13-4 over the final six minutes. It served as a break-out game for Terry Jenkins, who had 20 points and six rebounds off the bench that night, while going six-for-nine on 3-point attempts. Florida Southern later went back to the University Center on Nova Southeastern's campus and won the 2009 SSC Tournament, giving them three straight wins on Nova's home court.
ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... The Moccasins take the league's highest scoring offense to Nova this weekend after a game in which they had their third lowest point total of the season and their fewest field goals. Despite those numbers, they were still efficient, shooting 46 percent from the floor, 79 percent from the line and a season-high 64 percent from 3-point range, demonstrating their ability to score even if an opponent slows the pace of the game. While Rion Rayfield and John Thompson each scored in double figures against Palm Beach Atlantic, the Mocs also had four other players score between seven and nine points, and for the second time in the last three games, Cameron Wooten and Jay Hubble came off the bench to help spark the offense. The Mocs have also been getting quality minutes of late from Brett Bailey, with that trio combining for 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists against PBA. Overall, Rayfield's 17.7 average continues to lead the team, and the redshirt junior has now moved into 13th place on the Florida Southern career scoring chart with 1,228 points. He ranks eighth in the SSC in scoring, second in assists, first in 3-point field goals per game, and third in free throw percentage. Along with Brandon Jenkins and Terry Jenkins, he also gives Florida Southern three of the top four 3-point shooters in the SSC. Brandon is also on the verge of joining Rayfield and Thompson in the 1,000-point club, and will do so with 15 points against Nova.
ABOUT NOVA... After starting the season 1-3, Nova Southeastern has gone 10-3 in its last 13 games. That includes a 4-3 mark in conference play, making the Sharks one of four teams tied for third place in the SSC standings only one game behind Florida Southern. In reality, the race is even closer than that. Nova suffered an 86-83 loss to Rollins two weeks ago when the Tars' Nick Wolf hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in overtime, after the Sharks had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation at the free throw line. Otherwise, Florida Southern, Rollins and Nova Southeastern would all be tied for first heading into this week's games. The Sharks lost over half their team from last year when they finished third in the SSC behind the Moccasins and Tars, but they've seen a scoring increase of 7.0 points per game and have already made nearly as many 3-point field goals as they did the entire 2008-09 season. The roster includes seven fresheman and two transfers. Seven different players have led the team in scoring this year, and eight different players are scoring at least 6.0 points per game. Alex Gynes, who missed most of last year due to injury, is the team leader with a 12.5 average, though he ranks only 16th in the SSC in scoring. That's the lowest among any team leader in the league, an indication of the type of balance Nova has. In their seven conference games, six different players have led them in scoring, including players like Rob Huntington (20 vs. Rollins) and Teddy Tassy (18 vs. Florida Tech) coming off the bench.
