Box Score LAKELAND - After losing his top four scorers from last year to graduation, head coach Linc Darner began this year looking for a new set of scoring leaders to keep the Moccasin offense running at full-throttle. Saturday night they emerged, as newcomers Seth Evans and Kyle Tazioli combined for 39 points, returning veterans Dominic Lane and Brett Bailey combined for 20, and freshman Kevin Capers reached double digits for the second game in a row to give Florida Southern a 97-79 win over Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.
Evans, a junior transfer from Wisconsin-Green Bay was the Mocs' high man with 25, scoring 18 in the first half as the Mocs took a 46-36 lead at the break. Tazioli, a sophomore transfer from Stonehill (Mass.) then took over top scoring honors in the second half where he scored 11 of his 14 points for the game, and helped the Mocs steadily pull away for their first win of the season. Capers scored 14 points in the game, Lane scored 12 and Bailey added eight.
Lane also had a career-high 10 rebounds, and Evans handed out eight assists.
All in all, it was a strong effort for a Moccasin team that had opened with a loss to Division I South Florida on Wednesday, and was playing its home opener against UPR-Rio Piedras for the third time in the last four years. The Gallitos, who were starting a 5-game road trip to Florida to begin their own season, hung with Florida Southern for a large portion of the night, but eventually got worn down by the multitude of scorers the Mocs were able to throw at them.
The Moccasins looked like they might be able to pull away much earlier when Evans helped the Mocs go on an 18-1 run that erased a 17-15 lead by the Gallitos. The junior guard tied the score with a pair of free throws, put the Mocs ahead with a jumper shortly thereafter, and then hit a 3-pointer with nine minutes left in the first half that gave FSC a 24-18 lead. At that point it was their largest lead of the night, but the Mocs eventually pushed it to 17 before the Gallitos rallied.
Trailing 40-23, UPR-RP scored 13 consecutive points to cut the gap to four. The 13-0 run was sparked by Hector Maldonado, who started it with a three-point play, made three free throws after being fouled on the perimeter, and then hit a 3-point shot that made the score 40-34. A layup by Gabriel Rosaly ended the run, but Evans and Cameron Vines ended the half for Florida Southern with consecutive 3-pointers to get the lead back to 10 at the break.
A 3-point field goal by Joseph Vegerano started the second half for the Gallitos, but the game quickly went in Florida Southern's favor from there. The Mocs would score on four straight possessions, which included another 3-pointer by Evans, and the Gallitos never got closer than 14 the rest of the night.
Florida Southern ended up shooting 49 percent in the game, and 32 percent from behind the 3-point arc. UPR-Rio Piedras shot 44 percent, and was only seven-for-26 from behind the arc for a .269 percentage.
Evans was seven-for-13 overall for the Mocs and five-for-nine on 3-point attempts. He was also six-for-six from the free throw line. Tazioli was five-for-seven from the floor, made one 3-point field goal in two attempts, and added seven boards, and the Mocs out-rebounded the Gallitos, 47-31, and had a 20-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Maldonado scored a game-high 26 for the Gallitos, going nine-for-16 from the field, two-for-seven behind the arc, and six-for-seven at the line. Angel Acevedo and Joseph Vegerano each scored 17 points, and Vegerano also had eight assists.
Florida Southern will face another team from the island of Puerto Rico on Tuesday when it hosts UPR-Bayamon at 7:30 p.m.
