Box Score CLEVELAND, Miss. - Florida Southern opened its 87th season of intercollegiate basketball here Saturday evening by using 55 percent shooting from the field and placing four players in double figures en route to posting an 89-66 win over Delta State in the second game of the "Down in the Delta" Challenge at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
The Moccasins, who are ranked ninth in the Preseason NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, open the season with the victory for the second consecutive year and eighth time in the last 10 seasons. DSU fell to 0-1 on the season.
FSC, who improved to 3-1 all-time against the Statesmen, was paced by the scoring of junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) as he scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the opening half, including a stretch of 10 consecutive points that helped turn as 23-22 lead into a 38-28 advantage with 5:24 left in the first half. Along with his 23 points, Capers also recorded six steals, including four in the first half and two assists in just 17 minutes of action.
"I thought we played well tonight," Moccasins head coach Linc Darner said. "We were able to put pressure on them and that bothered them at times. We were also able to force them into 24 turnovers and shoot over 50 percent from the field."
In addition to Capers, senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added 15 points and three steals, while junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) tallied 12 points, including hitting three consecutive treys to open the second half and junior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench in the victory.
"We were able to get a lot of people involved offensively and did an excellent job at moving the ball," said Darner, who improved to 6-2 in season openers as FSC's coach. "We have a lot of guys that score for us."
Thanks to the play of Capers and Williams off the bench, the Mocs finished the night with a 44-11 edge in bench points. In addition, 11 of the 14 players that saw action scored at least two points on the night.
The Mocs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening 90 seconds of the game, before DSU used a 14-4 run over the next four-plus minutes to take a 14-9 lead. DSU would hold onto the lead for about two minutes until junior forward Bubby Johnson (Waldorf, Md.) scored a lay-up that jump started a 10-4 run for the Mocs that gave them a 23-18 edge with 10:08 remaining in the half. The run was capped by five straight points from senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio).
After the Statesmen answered with a 4-0 run to pull within 23-22, before the Mocs 17-5 run that was keyed by Capers' 10 consecutive points. After Willie Readus stopped the run with a lay-up to push DSU within 38-30, the Mocs scored four straight points to lead 42-30 after another lay-up by Johnson.
The Statesmen would close the gap a little thanks to hitting 6-of-7 free throws over the final 90 seconds of the half to send the Mocs into the locker room at the half holding a 46-37 halftime lead. In fact, 15 of DSU's 37 first half points came from the free throw line as they were 15-for-20 at the line as the Mocs were whistled for 16 fouls.
Kelly's three straight treys and another 3-pointer by Lane to open the second half on a 12-4 run to push the Mocs lead to 58-43. The Statesmen would stop the run with two free throws by Mike Washington, but FSC would respond with a 19-7 run over the next five-plus minutes to push its lead to 77-52. The run was capped by a three-point play from senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.).
The Mocs lead would eventually grow to as much as 28 points following a fast break lay-up by Williams with 3:30 left in the game. Williams' basket gave the Mocs an 87-59 lead.
DSU would score seven of the game's final nine points to set the final score.
The Statesmen were paced by 18 points and six boards from Washington, while Readus added 17 points and six boards in his DSU debut and Jack Madgen added nine points and four assists before fouling out with a 3:49 left in the game.
While FSC shot 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line, DSU was limited to 35 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent from the 3-point line. The Statesmen, though, finished the night with 30 made free throws as they finished 30-for-38 (79 percent) from the line. DSU scored 30 of its 66 points at the line.
The Mocs forced DSU into 24 turnovers that led to a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers. FSC committed 17 turnovers and was outrebounded, 36-31 as Williams and redshirt senior forward Garrett Putman (Washington, D.C.) each had five boards for the Mocs.
FSC will conclude play in the "Down in the Delta" Challenge on Sunday with a 3 p.m. contest against Arkansas-Monticello. The Boll Weevils opened the season with a 70-63 win over Eckerd in the first game of the two-day challenge event.
