Box Score
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Fifth-ranked Florida Southern began a two-game road trip here Thursday evening by using a strong defensive effort to post a 75-57 win over Benedict in South Region action at the Benjamin Mays HR Center Arena on the Benedict campus.
Thursday's game was a match-up between two of the four winningest teams in the South Region over the past four-plus seasons as FSC had 98 games entering action, while Benedict had won 84 games. In addition, both teams played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago in Lakeland.
With the victory, the Moccasins improved to 4-0 on the season and extended its regular season non-conference win streak to 11 straight games, while Benedict falls to 2-1 on the season. The 4-0 start is the first for FSC since 2009-10 when the Mocs opened the season by winning its first 13 games en route to finishing with a 25-5 record.
The win also snapped the Tigers' nine-game homecourt winning streak that dated to last season.
For the game, the Mocs held Benedict to 32 percent shooting from the field, including limiting the Tigers to just 26 percent shooting from the floor in the first half. The Tigers did shoot 35 percent from the 3-point line in the game and committed 14 turnovers that led to 16 Moccasin points.
"It was a good win on the road against a team that doesn't lose at home much and in front of a great crowd," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "I thought we did a much better job defensively tonight than we did last time out against Warner.
"It was a point of emphasis for us the past week in practice."
FSC, who led 37-21 at the half, used a 14-0 run over a span of nearly six minutes to turn a nine-point lead into a 64-42 lead with 6:35 left in the game. The run came after Benedict used a 16-8 run to pull within 51-42 with 12:24 remaining. The Tigers run was keyed by three consecutive three-pointers from Andrew Crawford.
"Once they made their run to cut the deficit to nine points, I thought we responded defensively, got things together and made a run ourselves on offense to push the lead back over 20 points," Darner added.
After FSC's run, the Tigers tried to mount a comeback as they scored five straight points to pull within 64-47 following a trey by William McDuffie with 3:55 left in the game. The Mocs, though, would use an 8-2 run to push its lead to 23 points at 72-49 following two free throws from sophomore guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) with 2:07 remaining.
The Tigers would close the game by scoring eight of the final 11 points to set the final margin of 18 points.
Junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) paced the Mocs with 15 points, including scoring 10 in the first half to help FSC to its 16 points halftime lead. In addition to Capers, junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) tallied 10 points, while senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) added nine points and season-high 10 rebounds.
Benedict jumped in front 6-2 just a little over three minutes into the contest, before the Mocs used a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Tyler Logan (Marlboro, Md.) to take a 12-6 lead with 11:45 left in the opening half.
After the Tigers stopped the run with two free throws by Kareem Ransom with 10:26 left, FSC went on a 13-0 run to push out in front 25-10 with 6:42 remaining in the half. The run was capped by another trey from Logan, who finished the night with a career-high nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line.
The Tigers, though, would answer with an 11-8 run to push within 33-20 with 3:53 remaining in the opening half. The Tigers run was capped by dunk and free throw by Lynden Davis.
FSC would close the half by scoring the final four points to go into the locker room with its 37-21 win.
Williams tallied eight points and four rebounds, as the Mocs held a 42-32 edge on the glass in the victory and redshirt senior forward Garrett Putman (Washington, D.C.) also had eight points as 11 of the 14 players that saw action scored at least two points.
Crawford led Benedict with 15 points, all of which came in the second half, while Brennan Reynard added 11 points in the loss.
While Benedict shot under 32 percent from the floor, the Mocs shot 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from long distance and was 16-for-18 (89 percent) at the foul line.
The Mocs will conclude the two-game road swing Saturday, Nov. 23 with a 3:30 p.m. contest in Savannah, Ga., against Armstrong Atlantic State (3-1).
"We have to put this win behind us and get ready to play another tough road game in less than 48 hours at Armstrong Atlantic," the Mocs eighth-year coach added.
