LAKELAND - Florida Southern will look to shake off the cobwebs from an 18-day lay-off here on Saturday evening as the Moccasins host Barry in a Sunshine State Conference game. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House on the FSC campus.
Saturday's game, which will mark the Mocs first game since posting a 92-80 victory over Johnson C. Smith on Dec. 18 to conclude the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule, is the first home SSC game of the season for the Mocs as they opened league play with a 61-56 win at Lynn on Dec. 1.
The Mocs come into Saturday's game riding a six-game winning streak that has raised its record to 8-1 overall on the season. FSC, who is 1-0 in the SSC, hasn't lost since falling on a half-court buzzer-beating shot by St. Cloud State on Nov. 23 in its opener of the FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic. The Huskies won that game 91-89. Since that loss, the Mocs have reeled off six straight victories, including posting three second-half come-from-behind victories.
Meanwhile, Barry also enters the contest on a hot streak as the Buccaneers have won three straight games to raise its record to 6-3 overall on the season. The Bucs, who were tabbed to finish eighth in the Preseason SSC Poll, are 1-0 in the league after opening SSC play with an 86-80 overtime win at home on Wednesday over Florida Tech. In fact, Barry's last two wins have both been in overtime as they concluded its pre-Christmas schedule with a 69-67 win over St. Martin's at the Courtyard by Marriott Holiday Classic in Boca Raton.
Saturday's match-up will mark the 56th meeting all-time in the series between the two schools as FSC holds a 41-14 edge in the series. The Mocs have won three straight games in the series, including sweeping both games a season ago. FSC holds a 21-4 lead in the series Lakeland and Barry hasn't won in Lakeland since earning a 68-58 victory on Feb. 10, 2007. Seventh-year Moc coach Linc Darner is 9-5 all-time against Barry, including being 5-1 in Lakeland against the Bucs.
The Buccaneers early success this season can be attributed to the play of senior guard Justin McCoy and Bryan Van Cott. McCoy is averaging a team-best 13.7 points and 3.6 assists per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in eight straight games, while Van Cott is averaging 13.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 45 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent at the foul line and is coming off a 17 point effort against Florida Tech. One of the big keys to the Bucs recent success has been the play of senior forward Aaron Martin, who is averaging 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and is fresh off a 21 point, eight rebound effort in his last game against Florida Tech. Over his last three games, Martin is averaging 14.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Barry is under the direction of 18th-year head coach Cesar Odio. Odio, who is a 1982 Florida Southern graduate and was the sixth-man on the Mocs 1981 NCAA Division II National Championship team, is 281-234 in his tenure with the Bucs. This season, Odio is sitting out this season as Barry's coach as he continues to recover from leukemia. In his place, former Miami Hurricane player Orlando Gonzalez is serving as the acting head coach and Gonzalez has compiled a 22-21 record in his third season filling in for Odio.
As a team, the Bucs are scoring 71.8 points per game and allowing just 66.8 points per game and are shooting 40 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. Additionally, Barry is getting outrebounded by less than a board per game and has a +1.9 turnover margin.
While Barry looks to play at a slower pace, the Mocs look to get up-and-down the floor at a quick pace as they are second in the league in scoring at 84.6 points per game and are outscoring its foes by +10.2 points per game. The Mocs are shooting 45 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and lead the league in assists (17.7 per game), steals (12.8 per game), turnover margin (+8.4) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3). In addition, FSC holds a +0.2 edge on the glass and is limiting its opponents to 47 percent field goal shooting and 34 percent shooting from the 3-point line.
Leading the way for the Mocs are junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.). Lane, who has scored in double figures in six straight games and earned SSC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 10, is averaging 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the 3-point line, while Evans is averaging 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game and has an SSC-best 3.3 assist/turnover ratio. Evans, who has scored 20 or more points in three of his last four games, is shooting 37 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line.
Two other Mocs, junior forward Lamar McKnight (Bedford, Ohio) and sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) also average in double figures as McKnight is averaging 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and is coming off a career-high 19 point effort against Johnson C. Smith, while Capers is averaging 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game and has reached double figures in five games.
Following Saturday's game, the Mocs will return to the road for two games next week as they open the road swing on Wednesday, Jan. 9 with a 7:30 p.m. game at Saint Leo, before concluding the road swing on Saturday, Jan. 12 with a 4 p.m. game at Nova Southeastern.
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.
Complete Barry Game NotesÂ
