Florida Southern steps out of conference play for the final time this season when it hosts Palm Beach Atlantic, the only Division II independent in the South Region. The Moccasins are looking to sweep the Sailfish for the second year in a row after coming away with a 79-71 victory earlier this year in West Palm Beach.
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GAME SPONSORS
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Geico
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CATERING FOR SIXTH MAN CLUB PROVIDED BY
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Natalie's Sports Bar & Grill
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Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #33, Cameron Wooten (7.1 pts., 5.1 rebs., .408 3-pt.%)
F, #40, Brett Bailey (6.7 pts., 4.2 rebs., .590 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (13.8 ppg., 6.4 rebs., 4.8 asts., .413 3-pt.%)
G, #2, Terry Jenkins (15.4 pts., 3.6 rebs., .869 ft%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (14.2 pts., 2.8 rebs., 4.7 asts., .422 3-pt.%)
Palm Beach Atlantic Probable Starters:
F, #32, Schuyler Gray (1.4 pts., 2.2 rebs.)
C, #55, Ian Sitz (5.5 pts., 5.1 rebs.)
G, #2, Dante Valentine (8.2 pts., 5.1 rebs., 3.0 asts.)
G, #3, Jonathan Lawrence (17.3 pts., 4.8 rebs., 2.3 asts.)
G, #11, David Wood (19.4 pts., 4.9 rebs., 2.2 asts.)
SERIES HISTORY... Including their earlier win this season, the Moccasins are 13-3 all-time against the Sailfish, including an 8-0 mark in Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins won last year at home, 76-60, after a 115-85 win the previous season, and a 115-65 win over PBA here in 2007-08. In the first meeting this year, the Mocs were led by Rion Rayfield, who went 5-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 23 points. Cameron Wooten was 7-for-9 from the floor, and scored 18 points with eight rebounds, though PBA limited the Jenkins brothers to 16 points and four field goals between them. Meanwhile, the Sailfish got 31 points from Jonathan Lawrence, and 16 points from David Wood, but were just 2-for-24 from behind the arc.
ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... Florida Southern is coming off a come-from-behind win against Nova Southeastern that allowed them to remain one game behind Rollins in the SSC standings halfway through the conference schedule. Combined with Florida Tech's upset of Tampa, it also allowed the Moccasins to pull into a tie for second place while remaining ahead of both Eckerd and Nova. Though this weekend's game doesn't count toward its SSC record, it's still extremely important for Florida Southern in the NCAA playoff race. The Mocs, who are now 14-5 overall, were ranked 5th in the first NCAA South Region rankings announced on Wednesday, and Palm Beach Atlantic would represent another regional win over a team with a winning record. Helping their cause is the return of Terry Jenkins and Cameron Wooten, who each missed nearly all of the previous two games, but keyed the Moccasin rally against Nova. Both players are among the best 3-point shooters in the SSC, Jenkins is seventh in the league in scoring, and Wooten is also the Mocs' second leading rebounder despite starting only four games this year. Rion Rayfield is also among the top ten scorers in the SSC and recently became the league's all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 317, breaking the old mark of 311 set by Barry's Cliff DuBois from 1995-99. He's now 25 points shy of Jerry Johnson for 5th place on the Florida Southern career scoring list. Brandon Jenkins just moved into the top ten on Wednesday night, and along with Damon Ellison, gives the Moccasins four players averaging at least 10 points per game.
ABOUT PALM BEACH ATLANTIC... Palm Beach Atlantic is one of nine full-fledged Division II members who are without conference affiliation, and the only one in the South Region. Much of the Sailfish schedule though, is filled with schools from the Sunshine State Conference, and so far this year, the Sailfish are 6-5 against those teams. They've been off though since January 19, when they defeated Barry, 66-45, a game in which they limited the Buccaneers to 25 percent shooting. Overall this year, the Sailfish are averaging 71.2 points per game and allowing 70.0. They are also shooting just 42 percent as a team, but allowing opponents to shoot just 43 percent. PBA's leading scorer is former Moccasin David Wood, who's averaging 19.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He's scored in double digits every game this season, has scored at least 30 on two occasions, and had 16 points and five rebounds in the first meeting with Florida Southern. Lately, however, the Sailfish have been led by Jonathan Lawrence, who is second on the team with a 17.3 scoring average. Though he's made half the 3-point field goals Wood has, Lawrence is the team's best 3-point shooter (21-for-51, .412) and shoots 47 percent overall. He's coming off a 27-point, seven-rebound performance against Barry, and is averaging 20.2 points per game over the last nine games. That even includes a 3-point game against Saint Leo. Against the Mocs on December 11, Lawrence scored a career-high 31, and was 12-for-18 from the field. No other player on the roster averages double digit points, and Dante Valentine is PBA's third-leading scorer with 8.2 points per game. He also leads the team with 54 assists and 33 steals, though he's come off the bench in 11 of PBA's 18 games.
A free live video webcast of Saturday's game will be available at http://fsc.nmtvsports.com/
Live stats for Saturday's game will be available at http://www.flsouthern.edu/athletics/mens/livestats/xlive.htm
