Mocs Defense Forces 27 Turnovers in Win Over Mary

LAKELAND - Florida Southern concluded play here Saturday evening by forcing 27 turnovers and having four players score in double figures en route to earning an 82-75 victory over the University of Mary in the final game of the 2012 FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic at Jenkins Field House.

One night after suffering a heartbreaking 91-89 loss on a half-court shot at the buzzer by St. Cloud State, the 22nd-ranked Moccasins (3-1 on the season) showed little effect from that setback as they used a strong defensive effort and strong bench play to hang on to defeat the Marauders.

"I thought we did a good job of forcing them into turnovers," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said following his team's third win of the season. "One of our emphasis this season is on forcing turnovers and creating easy baskets on the offensive end of the floor."

Through four games this season, the Mocs emphasis on forcing turnovers has paid dividends as they have forced their opponents into 85 and they have scored 103 points off those turnovers. In Saturday's game, FSC scored 26 points off of 27 Mary turnovers, including 14 points on 12 second half UM miscues.

The turnovers were a great equalizer in Saturday's game as Mary shot 49 percent from the field, made seven 3-pointers, was 22-for-25 from the free throw line and held a 40-30 edge on the glass. The Mocs finished the night shooting 41 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line.

"We did a decent job on the boards tonight, but we still have to get better," the Mocs coach said. It marked the third time in four games this year that FSC has been outrebounded.

Junior forward Lamar McKnight (Bedford, Ohio) and junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led the way offensively for the Mocs as they each tallied 17 points, while sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) scored all 14 of his career-high tying points in the second half. The fourth Moc in double figures was sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio), who scored 12 points and added a season-high eight boards in the win.

"I thought Dominic (Lane) and Lamar (McKnight) really played well and I also thought Tyler came off the bench in the second half and played extremely well, the best of the weekend for him," said Darner, who is now 133-61 at the helm of the Mocs program.

 Mary, who fell to 1-3 on the season, was in control early on in Saturday's contest as they jumped out an 18-9 lead just eight minutes into the game. The Mocs, though, responded with a 12-4 run keyed by seven points from McKnight to pull within 22-21 with 7:42 left in the half.

After UM used a 5-0 run to push its lead to 27-21, the Mocs once again responded with a 12-3 run to take a 33-30 following a basket by Lane with 1:18 remaining in the opening half. UM, though, would score the half's final four points to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room at the half.

UM's first half play was keyed by Jalen Jaspers, who scored 12 points and was 5-for-5 from the field and Josh Turner, who scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the opening half.  Jaspers finished the night with 18 points, while Alex Dorr added a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards on the night for the Marauders, who went 0-2 at the two-day tournament.

After trailing for most of the first half, the Mocs used a 15-5 run over a span of five minutes in the second half to turn a 47-44 deficit into a 59-52 lead with 10:23 left. The run was keyed by eight points by Kelly and capped by a three-pointer from senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.).

The Marauders, though, made one more push as they used a 6-2 run to pull within 61-58 with 8:37 left, but the Mocs answered with a 14-7 run over the next five-plus minutes to push out to a 75-65 edge with 2:33 remaining following another trey by Kelly. The 10 point lead was the largest of the game for either team.

UM would creep back within four points at 79-75 with 21 seconds remaining, but FSC capped the win by Lane connecting on three-of-four free throws in the final 19 seconds.

FSC finished the game with just 10 turnovers and collected 15 steals in the win as McKnight and Vines each had four in the game. Additionally, the Mocs also had 19 assists on 29 made baskets as Evans recorded a career-high tying eight.

The Mocs will now take a week off before returning to action as they open Sunshine State Conference play next Saturday, Dec. 1 with a 4 p.m. contest in Boca Raton against Lynn. Following the Lynn game, the Mocs will host Armstrong Atlantic in a 7:30 p.m. game on Monday, Dec. 3 at Jenkins Field House.