LAKELAND - Florida Southern steps out of Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday afternoon as the Moccasins host Palm Beach Atlantic in a 4 p.m. non-conference contest at Jenkins Field House.
Saturday's game, which is the second of a three-game homestand for the Mocs, is the first of two meetings this season between the two teams as FSC will travel to West Palm Beach for a 4 p.m. match-up on Saturday, Feb. 16.
The Mocs, who are ranked 20th in this week's latest NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, enter the game having won 10 of its last 11 games overall and have won five straight non-conference games since falling to St. Cloud on a half-court buzzer-beating shot on Nov. 23 in its opening game of the 2012 FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic.
FSC comes into play this weekend sporting an 11-2 overall record after improving to 4-1 in the SSC with its 93-82 home win on Wednesday over Eckerd College. The win over the Tritons extended the Mocs homecourt winning streak to seven straight games.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach Atlantic, who is an NCAA D-II Independent, enters the game having lost 11 consecutive games and is sporting a 1-13 overall record after falling on Wednesday night at home in overtime to fellow SSC member, Barry, 73-68.
"PBA played Saint Leo to four points, took Nova and Barry to overtime and beat Lynn, so their record is deceiving," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said following Wednesday's game against Eckerd. "We have to be ready to play and play well."
Saturday's game will mark the 21st meeting all-time between the two teams as the Mocs hold a 17-3 edge in the series. This year marks the seventh consecutive season that the Mocs will play the Sailfish two times in a season. The Mocs have won eight straight games in the series and 10 of 12 since Darner arrived as the Mocs head coach. Last year, FSC won 73-61 in Lakeland and posted a 90-76 win at PBA.
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PBA, who is playing just its seventh road game of the season, has three players averaging in double figures led by sophomore forward Marcus Hardy. Hardy is averaging 17.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures in three straight games and 12 times overall on the season. In addition to Hardy, senior guard Dante Valentine is averaging 12.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game and is coming off a 16 point, six rebound effort in his last outing against Barry, while junior guard Christian Martinez is averaging 11.8 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent from the free throw line. Martinez had 14 points and five assists in Wednesday's overtime loss to Barry.
The Sailfish are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Terry Primm. Primm, who has compiled a 36-113 record at his alma mater, has helped lead PBA to victories over all nine SSC member schools during his tenure.
As a team, the Sailfish are averaging 69.4 points per game and are allowing 83.1 points per game and are shooting 40 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. PBA is allowing its opponents to shoot 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from long distance and is getting outrebounded by a little over eight boards per contest.
While the Sailfish have struggled on the road this season as they are 1-5 away from the home, the Mocs have had a lot of success on its homecourt as they are 8-1 at home and enter the weekend having won seven straight home games. The Mocs strong play this season can be attributed to an offense that is 20th nationally in scoring as they are averaging 83.9 points per game and have scored 80 or more points in nine of its 13 games, including tallying 93 points in its last game against Eckerd. In addition, the Mocs are tied for second in the SSC in scoring margin (+10.1) and lead the league and are fourth in Division II in both steals (12.0 per game) and turnover margin (+8.6) and lead the SSC and is 15th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.3). FSC is shooting 44 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line.
The Mocs offense has five players averaging more than 10 points per game as senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) and junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) lead the way. Evans, who scored a team-high 17 points in the win over Eckerd, is averaging 14.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent from the free throw line and has an SSC-best 2.7 assist/turnover ratio, while Lane is averaging 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and has recorded two double-doubles and has reached double figures nine times in his last 10 games and 11 times overall on the season.
Other Mocs averaging in double figures include sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.), who is averaging 11.8 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the the field and 82 percent at the line and has reached double figures in four straight games, while senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) is averaging 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds and is coming off a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday against Barry and junior forward Lamar McKnight (Bedford, Ohio) is averaging 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Following Saturday's game, the Mocs conclude its three-game homestand on Wednesday, Jan. 23 with a 7:30 p.m. SSC game against its rival, Tampa. ÂÂ
Live stats will be available here: http://www.flsouthern.edu/athletics/mens/livestats/xlive.htm.
Live webcast and audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com.
