Box Score
LAKELAND - Florida Southern used a strong half offensive output here Wednesday evening to rally from a four-point halftime deficit to post a 93-82 win over Eckerd in Sunshine State Conference action in front of a season-high crowd of 879 at Jenkins Field House.
With the victory, the 20th-ranked Moccasins improved to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the SSC, while Eckerd fell to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the league. In addition, the victory extended the Mocs homecourt winning streak to seven consecutive games.
"I told our team at the half that we needed to play harder and get the 50/50 balls," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "I thought our team played hard in the second half and really got after it on both ends of the floor."
The Mocs, who trailed 43-39 at the half, opened the second half on a 10-5 run, including taking its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) with 17:58 left in the game. The 10-5 run was aided by three-pointers from sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio), junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Evans.
Evans, who was held to four points in the opening 20 minutes, scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to extend his double-digit scoring streak to six straight games.
After Eckerd tied the game on a free throw by Malcolm Brunner, Jr., the Mocs extended its lead thanks to 61-54 thanks to a 12-5 run, which was capped by two free throws from sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.). EC, though, used a 7-4 run to pull within 67-62 with 9:07 left.
The Tritons, who have now lost six straight games in Lakeland, used a basket by Malcolm Brunner, Jr. with 7:42 left in the game to pull within 71-66. That would be as close as the visitors would get as the Mocs used a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back lay-ups from senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) to take an 80-68 lead with 4:31 remaining.
Bailey finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double this season and ninth in his Moc career. Bailey scored nine points and had eight rebounds in the second half.
"I thought our pressure wore them (Eckerd) down tonight. We can go 9 or 10 deep at times," said Darner, who improved to 140-62 in his seventh season at the helm of the Mocs.
The Mocs second-half rally was fueled 50 percent shooting (5-for-10) from the 3-point line and nine Eckerd turnovers that led to 13 FSC points. The Mocs entered the game fourth in Division II in turnover margin at +8.4 per game and they finished Wednesday's game with a +11 advantage as the Mocs committed just 10 turnovers on the night.
"We were able to get out in the passing lanes in the second half and that led to us getting some good steals," the Moc coach added.
The Mocs lead grew to as much as 17 points at 87-70 following a free throw by sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio) with 1:35 left in the contest. Eckerd, though, wouldn't go away without a fight as the Tritons used a 9-2 run to pull within 89-79 following two free throws by Darrien Mack with 49 seconds left.ÂÂ
After Lane hit three of four free throws to push the Mocs lead to 92-79 with 30 seconds remaining, EC's Taylor Woody drilled a trey 16 seconds later to pull EC within 92-82. Capers, though, sealed the game's scoring by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 11 seconds remaining.
In addition to Bailey and Evans, Capers finished with 15 points, three assists and three steals off the bench, while Lane added 12 points and six boards in the win.
Mack, who is the two-time reigning SSC Player of the Week, led all scorers on the night with a game-high 24 points and added 16 rebounds. Alex Bodney added 14 points and Woody contributed 13 points for the Tritons.
In the first half, Eckerd jumped out to a 14-7 lead just seven minutes into the contest, but the Mocs responded with a 9-4 run capped by a three-pointer by Evans to pull within 18-16 with 9:06 left in the opening period.
After Eckerd used a 6-2 run to extend its lead to 24-18, the Mocs used a 10-4 run capped by a lay-up from Bailey with 5:30 left in the half that tied the game at 28. The Tritons would use a 4-0 run to take a 32-28 lead, before the Mocs answered with a 5-2 run to pull within 34-33 following a three-pointer by Vines with 3:54 left.
Eckerd, though, would extend its lead to as much as six points at 40-34 following two free throws by Bodney, before the Mocs closed the half on a 5-3 run to go into halftime trailing just by four points at 43-39.
For the game, the Mocs shot 43 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line, while Eckerd shot 45 percent from the floor and 32 percent from downtown in the loss. The Mocs, who were outrebounded by 24-11 in the first half, closed the gap in the second half as they finished the game only getting outrebounded by five boards, 44-39 and held a 34-15 edge in points off the bench.
The Mocs continue its three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 19 as they host Palm Beach Atlantic in a 4 p.m. non-conference tilt at Jenkins Field House.
"PBA played Saint Leo to four points, took Nova to overtime and beat Lynn, so their record is deceiving," said Darner about the Sailfish, who fell to 1-12 on the season following its 73-68 home loss Wednesday to Barry.
