Mocs Set to Host Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Tournament

LAKELAND - After enjoying Thanksgiving on Thursday, the Florida Southern Moccasins will return to the court this weekend as they host the 9th-Annual FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Tournament at Jenkins Field House on the FSC campus.

Tournament action gets underway on Friday at 5:15 p.m. as St. Joseph's (Ind.) faces Mary (N.D.), while the 22nd-ranked Mocs will face St. Cloud State in the second game begininng at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, St. Joseph's (Ind.) will meet St. Cloud State at 5:15 p.m. and the Mocs will conclude the event at 7:30 p.m. against Mary.

The Mocs enter the tournament ranked 22nd in the latest NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll that was released on Tuesday and are 2-0 on the season after picking up an 86-62 win Tuesday in its home opener over Puerto Rico-Bayamon. FSC opened the 2012-13 season with an 86-75 win over Stillman in Birmingham, Ala., last Thursday.

This weekend will mark the ninth consecutive season that FSC has hosted a holiday tournament and the third year in a row it's been held the week of Thanksgiving. The Mocs are 11-5 all-time in the tournament and have won two straight and nine of its last 10 overall with its only setback being a 75-70 loss to Saginaw Valley State in 2010. Last season, the Mocs defeated Limestone (82-78) and Armstrong Atlantic (85-84) in the tournament.

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The Mocs, who have scored over 80 points in both of its games this season, have five players averaging in double figures, led by senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.), who is averaging 15.5 points per game and is shooting 61 percent from the field. Other Mocs averaging in double figures include junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.), who is averaging 14.0 points and a team-best 8.5 boards per game, senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) is averaging 12.0 points and is shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line, sophomore guards Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio) and Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) are averaging 11.0 and 10.0 points per game.

As a team, the Mocs are shooting 52 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line, while they are holding thier opponents to 41 percent field goal shooting and 34 percent shooting from long distance. Additionally, the Mocs are forcing 21.5 turnovers per game and have collected 29 steals in two games as Evans has collected a team-high nine, while Capers and sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) each have five thefts on the year. FSC has scored 58 of its points this season off of turnovers and hold an 82-46 edge in points in the paint.

"One of the things we've been working on is to continue to create offense with our defense," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "So far this season we have done a good job at forcing turnovers and creating easy baskets."

In Tuesday's win over Bayamon, the Mocs had four players in double figures and 10 of the 12 players that saw action score, including freshman walk-on guard Alex McClanahan (Maitland, Fla.) and Blake Lowman (Brooksville, Fla.) closing the scoring with consecutive three-pointers in the closing minutes.

"This team has a lot of depth. We have 12 players that can play and thatgive us a lot of options as a coaching staff," Darner said following last night's home opener.

The Mocs opponent on Friday, St. Cloud State, is playing just its second game of the 2012-13 season as the Huskies haven't played since opening the regular season last Friday with a 67-48 win at St. John's (Minn.). The Huskies, who have advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times over the past 12 seasons, including making it to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2010, turned some heads in the preseason with a strong showing in an exhibition game against Michigan State. SCSU fell 62-49 to the Spartans in East Lansing.

"St. Cloud is a very good team. We have to be ready for them," Darner said. "They are a defensive-oriented team that is going to guard the 3-point line."

SCSU, who received 15 votes in this week's first regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, returns nine lettermen and three starters from last season's 20-9 squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA D-II Central Regional. Among the key returners for the Huskies, who are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIAC), is senior guard Shaun Jensen and senior forward Theo Rothstein. Jensen, who scored 13 points in the season opener against St. John's, averaged 13.8 points and 4.9 assists per game and earned All-NSIAC honors and was a Second-Team NABC All-Central Region selection, while Rothstein, who led the Huskies with 16 points in the opener, averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 boards per game a year ago.  

The Huskies are coached by Kevin Schlagel, who is in his 16th season at his alma mater. He has compiled a 302-141 record with the Huskies and has never had a losing season. In the Preseason NSIAC poll, SCSU was picked to finish fourth in the 16-team league.

FSC will be facing St. Cloud State for just the second time in school history as the Mocs won the team's only other meeting, 71-61, in Lakeland on Dec. 2, 1986.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Mocs will face the University of Mary, who is from Bismarck, N. D. Mary, who is also a member of the NSIAC, enters the weekend with a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 76-46 loss at Division I Milwaukee and then posting a 79-63 home win last Wednesday over Mayville State. The Marauders, who finished with an 8-18 record in 2011-12, are just one season removed from earning an berth in the NCAA D-II Central Regional Tournament in 2011.

Mary, who returns four starters and seven lettermen, are led by senior forward Alex Dorr. Dorr is averaging 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game and is coming off a career-high performance in his team's win over Mayville State. In that game, Dorr scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. In addition to Dorr, senior guard Josh Turner is averaging 13.0 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line, while junior forward Mark Musungayi is averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 boards per game this season.

The Marauders, who are making its second appearance in the FSC Tournament, are coached by Jevin Budde, who is in his second season. Budde, who was an assistant on the 2010-11 Mary team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, is 9-19 overall. Mary participated in the 2010 FSC Tournament and posted a 2-0 record as they defeated Saginaw Valley State (51-36) and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (98-63).

Saturday's game with Mary will mark the team's first-ever meeting on the hardwood.

St. Joseph's (Ind.) is the final team in this year's tournament. The Pumas are no stranger to the tournament as they are making its fourth overall appearance in the event and first since 2009. The Pumas are 4-2 in the FSC Tournament all-time. St. Joseph's, who is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, returns four starters and seven lettermen from last season's 8-18 squad.

The Pumas, who are 0-2 on the season, are led by the senior guard Damon Ellison, Jr., who is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 boards per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field. Other key players for St. Joseph's are sophomore guard Corey Clifton (12.0 points and 3.5 boards per game) and senior guard Dayvon Sloan (10.0 points per game). Ellison began his collegiate career at FSC as he played in 62 games for the Mocs from 2009-11 before transfering back to his home state.

St. Joseph's is coached by Richard Davis, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the Pumas. Davis, who was an assistant under Darner at St. Joseph's, before Darner came to coach at FSC, has led the Pumas to two NCAA D-II Tournament appearances, including its first-ever Elite Eight trip in 2010.

Following this weekend's tournament, the Mocs will take a week off before opening Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Lynn. Tip-off for the league opener is set for 4 p.m. in Boca Raton.