After three exhibition games against Division I opponents, and a split on their two-game trip to Valdosta, Georgia last weekend, the Florida Southern Moccasins will make their first home-court appearance of the 2010-11 season on Saturday afternoon. In a battle of nationally ranked teams that have each qualified for the NCAA Tournament three years in a row, the Moccasins will host South Carolina-Aiken at 1:00 p.m.
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GAME SPONSOR
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Triple Crown Construction Group LLC
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CATERING FOR SIXTH MAN CLUB PROVIDED BY
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Fred's Southern Kitchen
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Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #21, Preston Fredrick (11.5 ppg., 6.0 rebs., 529 fg%)
F, #32, Andre Hawkins (8.0 ppg. 3.0 rebs., .545 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (17.5 pts., 4.5 rebs., 3.5 asts., .444 3-pt.%)
G, #2, Terry Jenkins (17.5 pts., 3.0 reb., 2.0 asts., .429 3-pt.%)
G, #22, Damon Ellison (9.5 pts., 5.0 reb., 3.5 asts.)
USC-Aiken Probable Starters:
F, #42, Kevin Willis (18.0 pts., 9.0 rebs., .800 fg%)
C, #50, Michael Technow (4.0 pts., 5.0 rebs., 4.0 blocks)
G, #3, Re'mon Nelson (13.0 pts., 3.0 rebs., 4.0 asts., .750 3-pt.%)
G, 25, Byron Faison (17.0 pts., 2.0 rebs., 4.0 asts.)
G, 31, Chase Holmes (6.0 pts., 4.0 rebs., 3.0 asts.)
SERIES HISTORY... This is the third year in a row Florida Southern and South Carolina-Aiken have met, with the Moccasins winning the first two meetings. In December of 2008, the Mocs won in Lakeland by a score of 83-75. The Pacers were ranked #2 in the country at the time, making them the highest ranked opponent the Mocs have defeated in Linc Darner's five-year tenure at Florida Southern. Last year in Aiken, South Carolina, they came away with an 87-74 win behind 26 points from Terry Jenkins, who was one of six Moccasins to score in double figures that day.
ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... The Moccasins are ranked #6 in the NABC preseason national poll and have split their first two games. They opened with an 87-82 loss to 21st-ranked Alabama-Huntsville, but came back the next day to defeat North Alabama, 91-62. They're shooting 50 percent from the floor, 43 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the line. The Mocs have four starters and 13 lettermen back from last year's team, losing only SSC Player-of-the-Year John Thompson from the starting five. The four returning starters include Brandon Jenkins, Terry Jenkins, Andre Hawkins and Rion Rayfield, though Rayfield has come off the bench in the first two games. He's scored just 14 points so far, but still leads the team in assists (10) and steals (7). Cameron Wooten has also come off the bench in the first two games and has 16 points and seven rebounds.
ABOUT USC-AIKEN... Ranked #14 in the NABC preseason poll, the Pacers were 20-11 a year ago and won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament title after finishing second in the Eastern Division during the regular season. That earned them a third straight trip to the NCAA Southeast Regional where their season ended with an 88-71 loss to Montevallo in the semifinals. They have only two starters back from that team, but their leading scorer who was not a regular starter is also back. That player is All-PBC guard Byron Faison, who averaged 12.7 points per game and was 61-for-164 from behind the arc. Faison was one of five Pacers to score in double figures in their season opener on Wednesday, a 108-63 win over Vorhees (SC). Kevin Willis (18 pts.), Kenny Manigault (14 pts.), Re;mon Nelson (13 pts.) and Jesse Seilern (13 pts.) were the others as every member of the roster played at least 10 minutes and scored at least one point.
