Box Score
LAKELAND - Florida Southern used an 11-5 run in the game's final two-and-half minutes to rally to post a come-from-behind 88-82 victory over Tuskegee here Monday evening in non-conference action at Jenkins Field House.
Monday's game was the first for the Moccasins since posting a 78-71 come-from-behind victory at home over Benedict on Dec. 8. The nine-day break coincided with the completion of first semester final exams and graduation on the FSC campus.
With the win, the Mocs improve to 7-1 overall on the season and extend its win streak to five straight and four straight at home.
"We had some really good practices the past couple of days, just didn't play well tonight," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said following his team's fifth consecutive win. "I was hoping Tuskegee might've been a little jet lagged from playing Saturday at Michigan State, but they came in ready to play and played well.
"They (Tuskegee)Â are better than their record is."
Tuskegee, who fell to 1-6 on the season with the loss, entered the game having played one of the most difficult schedules in Division II as their first six foes have posted a 30-10 record, including playing Division II fourth-ranked Alabama-Huntsville (7-1) and Division I 20th-ranked Michigan State, who is 9-2 on the season.
The Mocs, who trailed by as much as nine points early in the second half, used a 6-0 run capped by a lay-up from junior forward Lamar McKnight (Bedford, Ohio) to turn a 77-74 deficit into an 81-77 lead with two minutes left in the game. The lead was the first for the Mocs since a dunk by McKnight with 16:10 remaining in the game pushed FSC in front, 50-49.
McKnight's dunk lit a fire under the Golden Tigers as they used 20-10 run over a span of a little over seven minutes to push out to a 69-60 lead. TU's run was capped by a dunk from Calvin Thomas, who finished with a game-high 25 points and added eight boards.
"We tried to shut down Thomas in the second half. We put a lot of guys on him, but he played an outstanding game," said Darner, who has now led FSC to 128 wins since the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
Following TU's run, the Mocs slowly crawled back into the game and pulled within a point at 69-68 with 7:47 remaining following a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio), a lay-up and ensuing free throw by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) to complete a three-point play and a lay-up by sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.).
The Golden Suns Tigers, though, used two free throws by Javier McKinney and back-to-back baskets from Thomas to push its lead out to 75-68 with six minutes left, before an Evans three-pointer, a free throw by junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and a lay-up by Capers pulled the Mocs within 75-74 with 3:50 left.
After the Mocs took its 81-77 lead, Tuskegee would answer with five straight points, including a three-pointer by Camden Foster to retake the lead at 82-81 with 1:20 left. Capers, though, answered 14 seconds later with a lay-up to give the Mocs an 83-82 lead. The Golden Tigers, who are now 1-2 all-time against FSC, looked to retake the lead, but Jacob Pettway was whistled for a travel as he was driving towards the hoop for a lay-up with a minute remaining.
Eight seconds after the travel by Pettway, Capers scored on another lay-up to push the Mocs lead to 85-82 and then Capers added two free throws with 15 seconds left to push the Mocs lead to 87-82. Evans capped the scoring by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds remaining.
Evans led the way offensively for the Mocs with 21 points and six assists. 12 of his 21 points came in the first half as he was 4-for-6 from the three-point line. The Mocs trailed 43-36 at the half after the Golden Tigers shot 57 percent from the field and was 3-for-3 from downtown. It is the fifth time this season FSC has trailed at the half and they are 4-1 in those games.
"I thought Seth shot the ball really well tonight," Darner added. "We've been trying to get him to shoot the ball quicker."
In addition to Evans, Capers finished 19 points, including six of those points in the final three minutes of the game, while McKnight and Lane each added 13 points in the win. Lane also pulled down a team-high nine boards.
Along with Thomas' 25 points, the Golden Tigers also got 17 points from McKinney, who entered the game averaging a little over 20 points per game and 12 points and nine boards from Shaquille Cook.
On the night, the Mocs committed just 14 turnovers, including eight in the second half that helped the Golden Tigers score 23 points, including 15 in the second half. Tuskegee finished with 24 turnovers on the night.
"We have to learn to value the possession of the basketball," said Darner.
FSC finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field, including shooting 49 percent from the floor in the second half after shooting 33 percent in the first half and shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line, while Tuskegee shot 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line on the night. Both teams finished with 43 rebounds and combined for 35 assists on 62 made baskets.Â
The Mocs will have little time to savor Monday's win as they return to the court in less than 24 hours as they host Johnson C. Smith in a 7:30 p.m. non-conference contest on Tuesday night. JCSU enters the game with a 5-2 overall record on the season.
"Johnson C. Smith has an unbelievable guard that is averaging 26 points per game and have a big low post presence," Darner said. "They are another very good and athletic team."
