Thanksgiving Holidays Begin With Bayamon

Florida Southern begins a stretch of three games in five days during the week of Thanksgiving when it hosts Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Tuesday night at 7:30. The game provides a lead-in for the Holiday Inn South-Ledger Classic that will be played on Friday and Saturday with two games each day. The 6th-ranked Moccasins are looking to bounce back from a 77-75 loss to 14th-ranked South Carolina-Aiken at the buzzer, and even their record at 2-2.

Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #21, Preston Fredrick (10.3 ppg., 4.0 rebs., 545 fg%)
F, #32, Andre Hawkins (5.7 ppg. 2.7 rebs., .500 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (17.3 pts., 4.7 rebs., 4.3 asts., .500 3-pt.%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (8.0 pts., 1.3 reb., 4.7 asts., .846 ft%)
G, #22, Damon Ellison (12.0 pts., 4.3 rebs., 2.7 asts.)

Puerto Rico-Bayamon Probable Starters:
F, #3, Javier Ayuso (11 pts., 3 rebs. 1 assist)
F, #31, Jeshua Ayala (12 pts., 10 rebs., 4 steals)
C, #21, Hector Garcia (0 pts., 1 reb., 1 steal)
G, #4, Angel Romero (3 pts., 2 rebs., 2 assists)
G, #5, Melvin Rivera (29 pts., 0 rebs., 1 assist, 13-for-25 on fgs)

SERIES HISTORY... Florida Southern has won all 10 of its previous meetings with UPR-Bayamon, including a 111-75 win last year that was the largest margin in the series. This is the fourth year in a row the Mocs have played the Vaqueros, also winning 88-65 two years ago, and 104-85 during the 2007-08 season. The Moccasins are 7-0 against the Vaqueros all-time here in Lakeland, with two wins in Bayamon and another in a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast.

ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... Florida Southern is looking to even its record again after a tough 2-point loss to South Carolina-Aiken on Saturday. The Moccasins had the lead only twice, but one of those came when Cameron Wooten hit a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds to play that put them up 75-74. The Pacers, however, were able to make a 3-point shot of their own at the buzzer, handing Florida Southern its first loss in a home opener since 1985 (79-72 to Oakland City College). Although Florida Southern is 1-2, the Mocs are still shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor through the first three games and 76 percent from the free throw line. They're also forcing 18 turnovers per game. Four players are averaging double figure points, including Terry Jenkins (17.5) and Brandon Jenkins (17.3), but Terry missed the game against USC-Aiken with an arm injury and is questionable for Tuesday night's game as well. The Mocs did get Rion Rayfield back in the starting lineup though, and also got 24 minutes off the bench from Cameron Wooten, who scored 10 points with four rebounds, two assists and one steal against USC-Aiken. 

ABOUT UPR-BAYAMON... The Vaqueros will be playing their third of a 5-game trip to Florida that includes games against Florida Tech, Saint Leo, Eckerd and Tampa. They dropped the first one to Florida Tech, 114-87, and will play Saint Leo on Monday night. Melvin Rivera is one of three returning starters for the Vaqueros and led them with 29 points against the Panthers. Three years ago as a freshman he scored 31 against the Moccasins and had 14 as a sophomore, but was shut out in last year's game. Freshman Peter Ruiz was the Vaqueros' second leading scorer at Florida Tech, coming off the bench for 15 points in 25 minutes, while another freshman, Jeshua Ayala, had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Overall, Bayamon shot 47 percent in that game and was four-for-13 from long range, but only 15-for-30 at the free throw line.