Thanksgiving Continues With Holiday Inn South/ Ledger Classic

For the seventh year in a row, Florida Southern is hosting the Holiday Inn South/Ledger Classic, with this year's tournament moving from the week after Christmas to the week of Thanksgiving. The Moccasins are joined by Mary University (ND), Saginaw Valley State University (MI), and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.

Mary and Saginaw Valley State open the weekend Friday at 5:15 p.m., with the Moccasins and UPR-Rio Piedras following that game at 7:30. On Saturday, Mary will again play in the first game, facing UPR-Rio Piedras at 5:15, before Florida Southern and SVSU bring things to a close at 7:30 p.m.

Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #21, Preston Fredrick (9.3 ppg., 4.3 rebs., 560 fg%)
F, #32, Andre Hawkins (5.8 ppg. 2.8 rebs., .529 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (13.8 pts., 5.0 rebs., 4.8 asts., .500 3-pt.%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (9.0 pts., 1.8 reb., 5.8 asts., .846 ft%)
G, #22, Damon Ellison (13.3 pts., 4.3 rebs., 2.3 asts.)

Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Probable Starters:
F, #21, Gabriel Rosali (2.5 pts., 4.0 rebs.)
F, #22, Pedro Minaya (4.5 pts., 5.5 rebs.)
G, #4, Joseph Vegerano (13.5 pts., 1.5 reb., 3.8 asts.)
G, #5, Jose Lopez (12.0 pts., 6.3 rebs., 5.3 asts.)
G, #13, Angel Acevedo (14.3 pts., 4.0 rebs.)

Saginaw Valley State Probable Starters:
F, #20, Dan Genther (8.5 pts., 7.0 rebs., 3.0 asts.)
F, #33, Patrick O'Brien (5.5 pts., 1.0 reb., .571 fg%)
C, #21, Eli Redman (9.0 pts., 3.5 rebs., .500 fg%)
G, #2, Chris Webb (15.5 pts., 2.5 rebs., 2.0 asts.)
G, #24, Michael Fugate (12.5 pts., 5.5 rebs., 5.0 asts.)

Mary Probable Starters:
F, #32, Eric Erdmann (12.0 pts., 7.0 rebs., 2.0 asts.)
F, #40, Damon Smith (8.5 pts., 2.5 rebs.)
G, #3, Anthony Moody (19.0 pts., 5.0 rebs., 5.0 asts.)
G, #12, Jordan Wilhelm (22.5 pts., 4.5 rebs., 10-for-17 on 3-pt. att.)
G, #21, Cameron Lee (3.0 pts., 4.0 rebs., 4.5 asts.)

SERIES HISTORY... Florida Southern has won both of the previous two meetings with UPR-Rio Piedras, winning last year's game 103-61, and also winning in 2008 by a score of 109-86. In the win last November, the Mocs raced to a 15-0 lead and never trailed, forcing 24 turnovers and limiting the Gallitos to 34 percent field goal shooting. The Moccasins have never faced Saginaw Valley State.

ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... The Moccasins are now 2-2 following their 89-62 win over Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Tuesday, a game in which 13 different players scored points. The Mocs are shooting 51 percent from the floor this year and 44 percent from long range, allowing them to average 84.2 points per game. That's just one point below their scoring average from last year, even with the graduation of 2010 SSC Player-of-the-Year John Thompson, and the absence of starting guard Terry Jenkins, who has missed the last two games with an arm injury. The Mocs have relied on balanced scoring, with Brandon Jenkins (13.8 ppg.) and Damon Ellison (13.3 ppg.) leading the way, and five other players averaging between 5.8 and 9.3 points per game. Jay Hubble has also returned after missing the first two games, and is averaging 4.5 points and 3.0 assists off the bench. Cameron Wooten and Dominic Lane have also performed well, and the three reserves are a combined 10-for-20 on 3-point attempts.

ABOUT UPR-RIO PIEDRAS... The Gallitos are visiting Jenkins Field House for the third year in a row and will be completing a 6-game road trip to Florida in this tournament. They've dropped the first four games of that trip to Flagler and SSC schools Rollins, Florida Tech and Saint Leo. In the games at Flagler and Florida Tech, the Gallitos led for most of the night, but in each case, their opponent pulled away in the latter stages of the second half. The Saints ended up winning 80-72, and the Panthers prevailed 79-66. On Tuesday at Rollins, the game was tied with just over four minutes to play before the Tars went 11-for-12 at the line in the final 2-1/2 minutes for a 79-66 victory, and Saint Leo out-scored them 13-1 in the final 4-1/2 minutes Wednesday for a 75-55 decision. UPR-Rio Piedras relies mostly on its outside shooting, with nearly 45 percent of its shots coming from behind the 3-point arc. They're shooting 43 percent overall and 34 percent from long range.

ABOUT SAGINAW VALLEY STATE... The Cardinals are making their first trip to Lakeland and are coming off their best season in 12 years. They finished second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Northern Division last year, return three starters and 10 lettermen, and are under the direction of 2010 GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year Frankie Smith. Off to a 2-0 start, both of their wins have come down to the close seconds, including a 66-65 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside where they erased a seven-point deficit in the final 30 seconds. The Cardinals then made six free throws in the final 45 seconds to secure a 68-62 win over Rochester (MI). Among their top veteran players are leading scorer Chris Webb, the 2010 GLIAC Freshman-of-the-Year, and Keithan Jackson, a Second Team All-GLIAC selection who has not played yet this season. Both are strong 3-point shooters who helped Saginaw Valley State average nearly 7.5 per game last year from that distance.

ABOUT MARY... Mary is also making its first trip to Lakeland, but its head coach is a one-time resident and former Florida Southern assistant coach. Randall Herbst is now in his second season at Mary after guiding the Marauders to a 15-13 mark last year that more than doubled their win total from the previous season. They also improved from 5-15 in the Northern Sun Conference to 11-9, and led the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.6). Four of their five starters are back too, led by preseason All-American Anthony Moody, a First Team All-NSIC and Second Team All-Central Region selection in 2010. Eric Erdmann was also All-NSIC last year, and between them, they averaged 35 points per game. Like Saginaw Valley State, Mary is 2-0 on the young season with a pair of very close wins. The Marauders edged Montana State-Billings, 70-68, and picked up a 75-69 win over Chadron State. Jordan Wilhelm led the team in scoring both games with 25 and 20 points respectively, and is the reigning NSIC Player-of-the-Week.