Box Score WINTER PARK - Seth Evans' 27-points, 20 in the second half, plus a tenacious defense led the fifth-seeded Moccasins to a 77-63 road win over fourth-seeded Rollins in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament here Wednesday night. The win earns the Moccasins (18-9) a spot in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Jenkins Field House against top-seeded Florida Tech, which advanced with a 98-92 triple overtime decision over Lynn.
Leading by as many as 11 in the first half, the Moccasins saw Rollins finish the period with a 17-4 run to pull ahead 26-24 before Kevin Capers' jumper with 18 seconds left brought the Moccasins even at 26-26 at halftime.
The Tars never saw the lead again. Brett Bailey scored the first basket of the second half to put the Moccasins back in front and they never looked back, leading the entire period. The Moccasins enjoyed a double-digit advantage for the final 3:24 of the game.
The win was the Moccasins' fourth straight, but first at Rollins since the 2007-08 season. It was FSC's 12th win in 12 tries against the Tars in the SSC Tournament.
Evans connected on five three-pointers and was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. His last eight points all came on free throws. Brett Bailey tossed in 16 points and Capers added 13 off the bench.
The Moccasins shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game at 49.1 percent. Rollins shot 43.5 percent from the field. Turnovers played a key role in the game. The Moccasins committed just eight, three in the second half, while Rollins turned it over 19 times. That allowed the Moccasins to outscore the Tars 18-4 in the points off turnovers category.
Brett Chance led the Tars (16-11) with 16 points, while Myk Brown added 13 and Davie Diakite tossed in 12.
In the other first round games Wednesday night, second-seeded Eckerd topped Barry 71-62 and third-seeded Saint Leo downed Nova Southeastern 62-57. Eckerd and Saint Leo will play the first semifinal game at noon Saturday at Jenkins Field House.
