Mocs Move to 5-0 On Season, Post Road Win Over Armstrong Atlantic State

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Fifth-ranked Florida Southern concluded its two-game road trip here Saturday afternoon by using a strong second-half defensive effort en route to posting a 93-77 win over Armstrong Atlantic State in non-conference action at Alumni Arena.

With the win, the Mocs have opened the season 5-0 for the 18th time in school history and first time since winning its first 13 games to open the 2009-10 season. Armstrong fell to 3-2 on the season.

The Mocs, who extended its regular season non-conference win streak to 11 straight games, held the Pirates to eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half as Armstrong hit just two of its first eight shots from the field during that stretch. For the game, FSC held Armstrong to 48 percent shooting from the field as they connected on 55 percent of its shots in the first half. The Pirates also shot 33 percent from the 3-point line.  

"I thought we played well today and on this road trip overall," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "I've seen a lot of improvement the last two games, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Our defense was very good today as we were able to force turnovers and get back to playing the way we're used to playing."

While the Mocs defense held the Pirates offense in check in the first 10 minutes of the second half, FSC's offense opened the half on a 24-7 run to push its 46-41 halftime lead to 70-48 lead following a basket by sophomore guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) with 10:28 left in the game.

During that run, the Mocs scored 13 of the half's first 14 points to take a 59-42 lead following a basket by senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) with 12:35 left in the contest. McKnight and junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) combined to score eight of FSC's 13 points.

The Pirates, who were playing its second home game of the season, used a 24-16 run over the next eight-plus minutes to drop FSC's lead to 86-72 following back-to-back baskets by Kyle Callahan. That would be as close as Armstrong would get as the Mocs hit 5-of-6 free throws and got a lay-up from freshman forward Stephen Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) over the final 90 seconds of the game to seal the win.

Junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) was one of five Mocs to finish in double figures as he tallied 21 points off the bench, while Kelly added a career-high tying 15 points and senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added 12 points, including eight in the first half. The other two Mocs in double figures were Williams and junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.) each added 11 points in the win. 

Carlos Brown gave the Pirates an early 8-4 lead as he opened the game by hitting back-to-back three-pointers and then scored on a 19-foot jumper to account for Armstrong's first eight points in the game's opening four minutes.

Adams, who was playing in his home state, got the hot hand offensively for the Mocs as he scored eight straight points to help the Mocs turn an 18-16 deficit into a 24-23 lead with 8:57 left in the opening half.

The Pirates would retake the lead at 25-24 just 26 seconds later on a basket by Kenny Bellinger II, before FSC used a 15-5 run to take a 39-30 lead following a lay-up by Capers with 4:32 remaining.

Armstrong, though, would respond by closing the half on an 11-7 run that was keyed by five points from Eric Eversley to drop the Mocs halftime lead to 46-41.

The Pirates were paced by 15 points apiece from Eversley and Bellinger II, while Callanan added 12 points. Brown and Hichem Benayad-Cherif each had 10 points in the loss. Eversley also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds on the day.

FSC finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line. The Mocs shot over 50 percent from the floor in both halves.

"I also thought our offense really played well, we shot a high percentage and were able to attack the rim and get a lot of high percentage shots," the Mocs coach added.

The Mocs committed just nine turnovers in the game, including just two in the second half and held a 19-12 edge in points off turnovers as Armstrong committed 22 turnovers, including 13 in the second half.  

FSC will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 26 as they open a three-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. game at Jenkins Field House against Puerto Rico-Bayamon. Bayamon opened the season with a win over preseason sixth-ranked USC-Aiken and play at Rollins on Monday before traveling to Lakeland. USC-Aiken, like FSC, advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season.