Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern reached the century mark on the scoreboard for the first time this year, and a near-perfect night by Terry Jenkins was just one of the many reasons why. Jenkins poured in 29 points on nine-of-10 shooting, and led an all-out offensive assault against Palm Beach Atlantic that ended with a 105-91 win by the Moccasins.
In addition to Terry Jenkins, the Moccasins (15-5) got 21 points from Brandon Jenkins, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists. Rion Rayfield scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists, and Damon Ellison came off the bench for 16 points and seven rebounds. That group helped the Mocs shoot a season-high 57 percent from the floor, 80 percent from the line (20-for-25), and make 13-of-25 shots from behind the 3-point arc. The 13 treys were the Mocs' second highest total of the season, behind the 17 they made against Ave Maria on December 8.
Terry Jenkins' big night included a 5-for-5 performance from 3-point range, just one short of Cameron Wooten's school record for the best perfect 3-point percentage in a game. He was also six-for-seven from the free throw line, and fell one point shy of his second 30-point game of the season. It was the fourth time he's scored at least 27, and all of them have resulted in Florida Southern wins.
The Moccasins never trailed and shot 65 percent in the first half to take a 60-43 lead at halftime. Five minutes into the game the score was tied at 12, but the Mocs scored seven straight points on their next three possessions to take control of the game. A jumper by Ellison gave them a 14-12 lead, Brandon Jenkins then scored on a put-back of his own missed shot, and Terry Jenkins followed with his first 3-pointer of the night.
The Mocs would later blow the game open by out-scoring the Sailfish 17-8 in the final five minutes of the half. Terry Jenkins hit two 3-pointers, and the Mocs also got five of Andre Hawkins' seven points in the game during that same stretch.
The start of the second half belonged to Palm Beach Atlantic (10-9), which out-scored Florida Southern 13-5 in the first 7½ minutes. A 3-pointer by David Wood brought the Sailfish within nine, but Terry Jenkins hit a 3-point shot immediately after that, and the Mocs lead would remain in double digits the rest of the night.
Even so, the Sailfish managed to stay just close enough that the Mocs could never truly feel like the game was in hand. It was 96-84 with just under three minutes to play, and PBA had the ball, but was unable to convert on the front end of a one-and-one. Brandon Jenkins then dealt the Sailfish a crushing blow by following up his own missed shot to score a second-chance bucket for the second time in the game. That came with 2:04 remaining, and the Mocs did the rest of their scoring at the free throw line.
Former Moccasin David Wood led Palm Beach Atlantic with 25 points and added eight rebounds, while Dante Valentine and Jonathan Lawrence each scored 19. The Sailfish shot 48 percent overall, and their 91 points were the most scored against the Moccasins this year.
Florida Southern returns to Sunshine State Conference play with its next game, traveling to Melbourne on Wednesday night for a 7:30 tipoff at Florida Tech.
