LAKELAND - With senior John Thompson leading the way on Senior Night, the Moccasins remained unbeaten at home, earned a share of the Sunshine State Conference regular season title and claimed the top seed in the SSC Tournament with a 90-82 win over Nova Southeastern here Saturday night at Jenkins Field House.
Thompson, the Moccasins' only senior on the team, notched his 10th double-double of the season with a 21-point, 12-rebound effort, as the Moccasins improved to 16-0 at home this season. They finished the regular season 24-3, 13-3 in the SSC and gained a share of the regular season title as a result of Rollins' loss to Eckerd Saturday. The top seed in the SSC Tournament went to the Moccasins by virtue of their two wins over third-place Eckerd, while Rollins split with the Tritons. The Moccasins will take on eighth-seeded Saint Leo Wednesday night at 7:30 at Jenkins Field House.
Against Nova, the Moccasins led from start to finish, but the Sharks made a late rally in the second half that kept the game close. Terry Jenkins' basket at the end of the first half put the Moccasins up 50-36 and they built the margin to 17, 55-38, with 17:48 left in the game. The Sharks kept chipping away at the lead, though, and with 1:34 left it was down to four at 82-78, but the Sharks never got any closer.
Thompson's 12 rebounds moved his FSC career total to 554 and put him in 23rd place on the FSC career rebounding list. Rion Rayfield led theMoccasins' scoring with 24 points, including eight free throws without a miss. He moved into FSC's top ten in career scoring. He now ranks 10th with 1,353 points. Brandon Jenkins added 19 points, raising his FSC career scoring total to 1,091 and leaving him just one point behind Mark King (1980-82) for 23rd place on the career scoring list.
The Moccasins split their two regular season games with Saint Leo, dropping a 91-79 decision at Saint Leo Jan. 13, but avenging it with a 101-70 victory in Jenkins Field House Feb. 17. The other first-round SSC games Wednesday will have seventh-seeded Tampa at second-seeded Rollins, sixth-seeded Nova Southeastern at third-seeded Eckerd and fifth-seeded Barry at fourth-seeded Lynn. The winners Wednesday will advance to the semifinals Saturday at Nova Southeastern. The Moccasins are looking to claim their third straight SSC Tournament title.
