Box Score LAKELAND -€" Damon Ellison continued his early-season scoring run, and Brett Bailey may have given the Moccasins a new presence in the paint. With Ellison scoring a career-high 22 points, and Bailey scoring 12 to go along with 10 rebounds, No. 21 Florida Southern defeated Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras 92-72 on the first night of the Holiday Inn South/Ledger Classic.
The Gallitos (0-5) played much as they have during their entire 6-game trip to Florida, shooting a lot of 3-pointers, and hanging around for most of the game before running out of gas. The Moccasins (3-2) led by only six with 12:20 remaining, but pulled away by out-scoring the Gallitos 12-1 over the next three minutes. They later out-scored them 14-6 over the final four minutes of the game, and allowed the Gallitos to make just one field goal during that stretch.
The Moccasins never trailed in the game, and it was Ellison who got them going by scoring their first six points of the night. When Rio Piedras had pulled within two at the 10:54 mark of the first half, Ellison hit two buckets in quick succession, followed by consecutive 3-pointers by Rion Rayfield that gave the Mocs a 23-13 lead.
Ellison ended up 6-for-6 in the first half with 12 points, but the Mocs also got a spark from Bailey, who had four points and five rebounds to help give them 34-23 lead at the break. That earned the sophomore forward the start when the teams came out of the locker room, and he added to his totals right away. Twice in the first five minutes of the second half, Bailey came up with an offensive rebound and turned it into two points â€" once with a pair of free throws, and once with a put-back.
When the Gallitos closed within 52-46, it was Bailey again on the offensive boards, grabbing a loose ball after a missed free throw and scoring two more points on a layup. He was then fouled at the other end while picking up a defensive rebound, and turned that into two points as well with a pair of free throws at the other end. That put the Mocs ahead by 11 with 11:29 to play, their lead remained in double digits the rest of the night.
Ellison finished the game 11-for-14 from the floor, and his 22-point effort marked the third straight game he led the Mocs in scoring. The sophomore guard had scored 17 on five previous occasions in his career, but Friday night marked his first career 20-point game.
Brandon Jenkins scored 19 for the Moccasins and added seven rebounds and six assists, while Bailey and Cameron Wooten each scored 12 coming off the bench. Bailey also picked up one steal and one blocked shot in addition to his first career game with double digit points or rebounds. Rayfield rouned out the Florida Southern scoring leaders with 11 points, and went 3-for-5 from long range with eight assists.
Overall, the Mocs were just seven-for-21 from 3-point range, while the Gallitos were 10-for-33. The two teams also went to the free throw line a combined 69 times, with Florida Southern going 27-for-36, and UPR-Rio Piedras just 16-for-33. They were a total of 31 fouls called in the second half alone.
Florida Southern will play again Saturday night when it hosts Saginaw Valley State (MI) in the final game of the Holiday Inn South/Ledger Classic at 7:30.
The Cardinals dropped their game on Friday by a score of 51-36 against Mary (ND), which was led by Eric Erdmann and Anthony Moody, who each had 16 points and five rebounds. Saginaw Valley State was paced by Michael Fugate, the Cardinals' only player with more than five points. He scored 14 to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, and was 6-for-12 from the field. The rest of the Saginaw lineup was only 7-for-39, as the Cardinals shot 26 percent overall.
