Mocs Win Streak Snapped, Falls at Saint Leo in SSC Action

SAINT LEO - Florida Southern saw its seven-game winning streak halted here Wednesday evening as the Moccasins fell 71-63 to Saint Leo in Sunshine State Conference action at the Bowman Center on the SLU campus.

Wednesday's game was a match-up between the top two teams in the Preseason SSC poll and a rematch of last season's SSC Tournament title game that the Mocs won 61-58 in Lakeland. In the Preseason SSC, SLU was tabbed as the league favorite, while FSC was picked to finish second.  

The Moccasins, who are ranked 16th in this week's latest NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, fell to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the SSC with the loss, while Saint Leo improved to 10-2 overall and remained perfect in SSC play with a 3-0 record.

FSC, who suffered its first loss since falling on a half-court buzzer beating shot by St. Cloud State on Nov. 23 in its opening game of the FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic, trailed 27-22 at the half, but rallied to take a seven point lead midway through the second half following a three-pointer by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.). Evans' trey, which capped an 18-4 Moc run, gave the visitors a 49-42 lead with 10:45 remaining.

Following the Mocs run, the Lions used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 49 with 7:06 left in the game. The Mocs, though, used 4-0 run capped by a lay-up from sophomore Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) to take a 53-49 advantage, before SLU used an 18-5 run to take a 67-58 lead with 55 seconds left in the game.

Sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio) pushed the Mocs within 67-61 following a three-pointer with 37 seconds left, before SLU would hit 1-of-2 free throws to push its lead to 68-61. After a lay-up by freshman guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) pulled Mocs within 68-63 with 19 seconds left, the Lions closed the game by hitting three of four free throws to seal the win.

Junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led the way for the Mocs as he recorded his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Evans had 11 points and Vines chipped in with 10 points and five boards in the loss. Senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) scored nine points and had 10 rebounds off the bench.

The Lions win was aided by free throws as SLU shot 41 free throws for the game, including 30 in the second half, as FSC was whistled for a season-high tying 28 fouls and had three players foul out on the night. SLU was called for just 17 fouls and the Mocs shot jiust 19 free throws in the game, including just 11 in the second half.

Trent Thomas led the way for SLU with a game-high 28 points off the bench, while Marcus Ruh added 18 points and Jerrel Harris chipped in with 17 points in the win.

The Lions held a 48-43 edge on the boards, while the Mocs forced SLU into 16 turnovers that led to 14 points. FSC finished with just 11 turnovers for the game.  

SLU, who received eight votes in this week's NABC poll, jumped out to an 8-0 lead just four minutes into the contest, before Lane scored the Mocs first two points on a long jump shot with 15:52 left in the opening half.

The Lions jumped its lead to as much as 10 points at 22-12 in the first half, before the Mocs used a 10-3 run capped by two free throws from redshirt senior guard Jay Hubble (Pendleton, Ind.) with 52 seconds left in the half to pull within 25-22. The Lions, though, completed the first half scoring on two free throws by Thomas with 39 seconds left to go into halftime with a 27-22 lead.

On the night, the Mocs struggled shooting the ball as they finished shooting 31 percent from the field and were just 5-for-25 (20 percent) from the 3-point line, while SLU shot 36 percent from the field and 47 percent from long distance.

The Mocs will continue its two-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 12 as they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to face Nova Southeastern in a 4 p.m. SSC game.