LAKELAND - Fourth-ranked Florida Southern will put its nine-game winning streak on the line here Saturday afternoon as the Moccasins host Palm Beach Atlantic in a 4 p.m. non-conference contest at Jenkins Field House.
Saturday's game, which is the first of a five-game homestand for the Mocs, is the first of two meeting this season between the two teams as FSC will travel to West Palm Beach for a 7 p.m. match-up on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The Mocs, who are ranked fourth in this week's fourth regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, enter the game as one of 26 remaining undefeated teams left in Division II this season and one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Sunshine State Conference as Barry is currently 5-0 on the season.ÂÂ
FSC comes into the weekend sporting a 9-0 overall record and is 1-0 in the SSC after opening up league play with a 79-73 win last Saturday at Nova Southeastern. The Mocs have started 9-0 for the just the 12th time in school history and first time since the 2009-10 squad won its first 13 games en route to posting a 25-5 record. Along with winning its first nine games this season, the Mocs also enter the game having won 15 consecutive regular season non-conference contests.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach Atlantic, who is an NCAA Division II Independent and is a member of the South Region, enters the weekend sporting a 2-6 overall record. The Sailfish have dropped five of its last six games with the only win being a 73-68 home win last Saturday over Eckerd. The victory over the Tritons snapped PBA's 21-game losing skid against SSC foes that had dated to early last season when the Sailfish earned its only win of the year with a 72-71 victory at Lynn.
"PBA is a vastly improved team from last season. They are well coached and we better be ready to play," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "They beat Eckerd and have played tough against Florida Tech, Tampa and Lynn."
The Sailfish fell 75-69 at home to Florida Tech on Nov. 18 and lost 62-58 at Tampa on Nov. 23 and fell 86-76 at home against Lynn on Dec. 4. PBA's other game this season against an SSC school came in the season opener as Rollins picked up an 81-63 victory in Winter Park. In addition to defeating Eckerd in its most recent game, PBA's other victory this season came at home against Northwood (Fla.), 75-65 on Nov. 16.
Saturday's game will mark the 23rd meeting all-time between the two teams as the Mocs hold a 19-3 edge in the series. This year marks the eighth consecutive season that the Mocs will play the Sailfish two times in a season. The Mocs have won 10 straight games in the series and 12 of 14 since Darner arrived as the Mocs head coach in 2006. Last year, FSC won 98-62 in Lakeland and picked up a 91-70 win in West Palm Beach.
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PBA, who is playing just its fourth road game of the season as they are 0-3 away from this year, returns just one starter and four players that saw action on last season's 1-24 squad. Among the key players this year for the Sailfish is junior guard Marcus Hardy, who is averaging 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 71 percent at the free throw line. Hardy, who was named the Preseason ICAA Player of the Year, has scored in double figures four times and recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Florida Tech. In addition to Hardy, junior guard Evin Graham, who is a transfer from Jacksonville University, is averaging 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 76 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in six games and has recorded three double-doubles, including recording back-to-back double-doubles heading into this weekend's action. A third Sailfish, junior guard Clayton Williams, is also averaging in double figures as he is averaging 10.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 37 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the free throw line.
The Sailfish are under the direction of first-year head coach Dave Balza. Balza is no stranger to the Sunshine State as he spent nine seasons as the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast as he helped the program usher in the Division I era. Balza, who has nearly 25 years of collegiate coaching experience, is 2-6 in this first year at PBA and has compiled a 216-194 career record in 14 seasons as a collegiate coach as he has been the head coach at St. Jospeh's (Ind.), FGCU and Bethany (Minn.) Lutheran.
As a team, the Sailfish are averaging 70.8 points per game and they have scored over 70 points in four straight games and are shooting 41 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent at the free throw line. In addition, they are outrebounding their foes by a +0.4 margin and are averaging 16.0 turnovers per game and are forcing 15.3 per game. On defense, PBA is allowing 75.6 points per game and its opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line.
While the Sailfish have struggled on the road this season, the Mocs have flourished on its homecourt since the beginning of last season as FSC has compiled a 20-3 mark at home, including going 4-0 at home this season. The Mocs enter the weekend having won eight straight home games since last season's 83-78 loss to Florida Tech in the second to last regular season home game. Since that the loss, the Mocs have gone 8-0 at home as they ended last year's regular season with a win over Rollins, before winning three games in the NCAA Tournament and have opened this season with four wins at home.
As a team, the Mocs continue to be one of the top scoring teams in Division II as they are averaging 88.7 points per game this season and have scored 80 or more points in seven of those nine games, including topping the century mark against Stillman College. In addition to its scoring, the Mocs are also second in the SSC in field goal shooting (48.5 percent) and are fifth in the league in 3-point shooting (32.6 percent) and are averaging 6.4 made 3-pointers per game, which is fifth-best in the league. FSC is also the top free throw shooting team in the SSC as they are shooting 74 percent at the line and are outscoring its foes by 14.1 points per game and have a turnover margin of +4.0 and a rebound margin of +5.0.
The Mocs enter the weekend with six players averaging over eight points per game, including three players averaging 10 or more points per game. Leading the way offensively for FSC is junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.), who is averaging 16.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in seven of nine games, including a team-best four 20-plus point efforts. In addition to Capers, senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is averaging 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the floor and 41 percent from downtown and is coming off a career-high 29 point performance last Saturday at Nova Southeastern, while junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.) is averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting an SSC-best 67.9 percent from the field and has reached double figures in six of nine games, including four times in his last five outings.
Following Saturday's game, the Mocs will continue its five-game homestand next weekend by hosting Shaw (N.C.) in a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, Dec. 20, before concluding its pre-Christmas schedule with a 4 p.m. game on Sunday, Dec. 22 against Tuskegee. The homestand will conclude after the New Year as the Mocs host Barry and Eckerd in SSC games on Jan. 4 and 8 respectively.
Live stats will be available here: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=30011.
Live webcast and audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com.
Palm Beach Atlantic Game Notes
