LAKELAND - Wednesday night's game between Florida Southern and Eckerd wasn't always pretty, but the Moccasins still had reason to smile when the night ended. Getting 20 points from Rion Rayfield, another big second half from A.J. Hawkins, and key plays from John Thompson down the stretch, 2nd-ranked Florida Southern was able to out-last Eckerd, 70-65, and improve to 13-0 on the season.
Two teams each averaging better than 80 points per game combined for only 50 in the first half, with the Moccasins (13-0, 3-0 Sunshine State Conference) leading 26-24 at the break. The Mocs shot just 33 percent, and the Tritons (6-5, 0-2) were even worse, shooting 27 percent. Physical defensive play had a lot to do with that, and both teams had trouble putting together any type of run. Only once in the first half did either side lead by more than four points, and during one stretch of nearly five minutes, only one basket was scored.
The Mocs fought through all of it to take a two-point lead at halftime, and did it with their two starting post players on the bench for most of the first half. Hawkins and Thompson each picked up two early fouls, but the Mocs got a lift from Cameron Wooten, who keyed a 10-0 run late in the half that gave Florida Southern control of the game, if only for a short while. They also got big minutes in the post from Jon Gardner and Brett Bailey for the second game in a row.
With the Mocs trailing 18-14 five minutes before halftime, Wooten stripped Walade Wade of the ball underneath the basket, starting a fast break that ended with him holding the ball again at the other end of the court. Taking a pass from Rayfield in the left corner, Wooten drained a 3-pointer that got the Mocs within one.
Rayfield then made two free throws on their next possession, and after Wooten grabbed a defensive rebound, Rayfield set up another fast break 3-pointer, this one by Terry Jenkins. That gave Florida Southern a 22-18 lead, and Wooten made it 10 straight points for the Mos with a pair of free throws one minute later.
Eckerd ended the run with a basket by Wade at the 2:14 mark, and was able to tie the game at 24 with less than a minute to play. Rayfield then scored on a reverse layup 17 seconds before halftime, giving the Mocs their 2-point advantage at the break.
The late first-half flurry was a sign of things to come. The Moccasins found their shooting touch once again in the second half, shooting 52 percent from the floor and going five-for-nine from 3-point range. It still wasn’t easy. Thompson picked up two more fouls in the first minute, and with the aid of a 3-pointer by Lance Kearse, and back-to-back buckets by Lewis Lampley, Eckerd re-claimed a four-point lead less than three minutes into the period.
Florida Southern responded though, out-scoring the Tritons 19-3 over the next eight minutes, as Hawkins and Rayfield took over the game. A 3-pointer by Brandon Jenkins got the Mocs within one, and a jumper by Damon Ellison gave them a 35-34 lead. Hawkins and Rayfield then scored the next 14 points, and with less than 10 minutes remaining, the Mocs were ahead 49-37.
Eckerd eventually trimmed the deficit to five with consecutive baskets by Zaronn Cann inside of four minutes, but that’s when Thompson re-entered the game for Florida Southern. On the bench with four fouls since the opening minute of the second half, the senior forward scored the Moccasins’ final eight points, including a field goal and two free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Three times when Eckerd got within three, Thompson scored for Florida Southern at the other end. The last came after Kearse missed a game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds to play, and Thompson battled several Tritons for the loose ball rebound. His two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining sealed the game.
In addition to his game-high 20 points, Rayfield also had eight assists in 38 minutes. Hawkins finished with 12 points, including 10 in the second half, while Brandon Jenkins scored 10 overall and was three-for-four from behind the arc. Thompson had nine points and four rebounds while playing only 14 minutes.
John Harper led Eckerd with 16 points, while Zaronn Cann and Wayne Sears each scored 11. The Tritons shot just 36 percent for the game, and were four-for-22 from 3-point range.
Florida Southern returns to the court on Saturday afternoon in Winter Park as the Moccasins face 20th-ranked Rollins College at 4:00 p.m.
