Mocs Set to Host Rival Tampa Wednesday

LAKELAND - Florida Southern will conclude its three-game homestand here Wednesday evening as the 14th-ranked Moccasins renew its annual rivalry with Tampa in a 7:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference showdown at Jenkins Field House.

The Mocs enter Wednesday's game having won 11 of its last 12 games overall and have won two straight SSC games since falling at Saint Leo (71-63) on Jan. 9. In addition, the Mocs have also won eight consecutive home games since falling to 91-89 to St. Cloud State on a half-court buzzer beater on Nov. 23 in its opening game of the 2012 Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic.

FSC comes into its match-up with Tampa sporting a 12-2 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the SSC after collecting an impressive 98-62 non-conference win at home on Saturday over Palm Beach Atlantic. With a victory on Wednesday, the Mocs will win 10 home games for the sixth consecutive season and the 11th time in the last 13 seasons.

Meanwhile, Tampa enters the game with a 13-4 overall record, but the Spartans, who started the season 12-0, are just 1-4 in the SSC. UT's lone win in league play came last Wednesday at home as they posted a 69-65 overtime victory over Saint Leo. The Spartans followed up the Saint Leo win with a 68-51 loss at home on Saturday against Nova Southeastern. 

Wednesday's game will mark the 159th meeting between the two rivals that are about 40 miles apart on I-4. FSC holds an all-time record of 88-70 in the series, including holding a 56-35 mark since Tampa re-instated men's basketball in 1983-84 after a 12-year hiatus. The Mocs have won 10 straight games in the series and Mocs seventh-year head coach Linc Darner is 11-3 all-time against UT. The current 10 game winning streak for FSC in the series is the longest for either team since they first met on the hardwood in 1933. The two teams will meet for a second time this season on Feb. 27 in Tampa. 

Tampa, who was picked to finish ninth in the Preseason SSC Poll and is poised to post its third winning season in the last five years, comes into Wednesday's game with two of the top scorers in the league in junior guard Da'Markco Foster and senior guard Anthony Griffis. Foster is fourth in the SSC in scoring as he is averaging 17.6 points per game and is pulling down 4.1 boads and dishing out 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line, while Griffis is sixth in the league in scoring at 15.2 points per game and is third in the SSC in 3-pointers made per game (2.6) and is eighth in the league in three-point shooting (42.3 percent). Other key players for the Spartans include junior forward Vincent Cornu, sophomore guard Jon Riles and junior guard Eric Moraes. Cornu, who is fifth in the league in rebounding and 10th in field goal shooting, is averaging 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the floor, while Riles is averaging 5.8 points and 4.9 assists per game and has a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from downtown and Moraes is averaging 5.3 points and 4.4 boards per game and has blocked 17 shots (1.0 blocks per game) and is shooting 73 percent from the floor.

As a team, the Spartans, who are 0-2 on the road in league play and have lost five straight league games on the road dating to last season, are fourth in the league in scoring as they average 74.0 points per game and are third in the SSC in both field goal shooting (45.4 percent) and 3-point shooting (37.5 percent). In addition, UT leads the league in rebound margin (+6.3) and they are allowing 66.6 points per game and are limiting their opponents to 43 percent shooting from the field and 32 percent shooting from the 3-point line, which is third-best in the league. The Spartans have struggled at the free throw line this season as they are shooting just 61.3 percent at the line.

UT is under the direction of 30th-year head coach Richard Schmidt. Schmidt, who is the second longest active tenured coach in the league, has compiled a 589-278 record with the Spartans and is 617-305 in his 32nd season as a collegiate head coach. In his 30 years at UT, Schmidt, who was inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame in  2004, has led the school to 26 winning seasons and 15 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. Last season, Schmidt became just the fourth active Division II coach to win 600 career games.

Wednesday's game could be a high scoring affair judging by the numbers as the Mocs, like Tampa, like to score points. FSC enters Wednesday's action leading the league in scoring as they are averaging 84.9 points per game. On the season, the Mocs have scored 75 or more points in 12 of its 14 games, including scoring 90-plus points in its last two outings. Additionally, the Mocs are outscoring its foes by 11.9 points per game and are shooting 45 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. The Mocs do lead the SSC in steals (12.2 per game), assists (17.0 per game), assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and turnover margin (+8.8). Along with leading the SSC in turnover margin, the Mocs lead all of Division II in that category and are fourth among all NCAA schools across all three divisions. FSC's opponents have committed 296 turnovers in 14 games and they are averaging 21.1 per game.

The Mocs offensive attack is paced by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) and junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Evans is averaging 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent at the free throw line and had an SSC-best 2.9 assist/turnover ratio. Over his last five games, Evans, who has scored in double figures in seven straight games, is averaging 17.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 53 percent from floor and 38 percent from long distance, while Lane, who has had two double-doubles on the year, is averaging 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and has reached double figures in 12 games, including 10 times in his last 11 outings.

Along with Evans and Lane, two other Mocs are averaging in double figures as sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) is averaging 12.0 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field and 81 percent at the foul line and has reached double figures in five consecutive games and senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) is averaging 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and over his last five games, Bailey, who recorded a double-double against Eckerd, is averaging 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Following Wednesday's game, the Mocs will close out the month of January with two straight SSC road games. The road swing begins on Saturday, Jan. 26 with a 4 p.m. game at Florida Tech, before traveling to Winter Park on Wednesday, Jan. 30 for a 7:30 p.m. game at 17th-ranked Rollins.   

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

Tampa Game Notes