Mocs Conclude Pre-Christmas Schedule With Two Home Games This Weekend

LAKELAND - Florida Southern is set to conclude its pre-Christmas schedule here with two non-conference games this weekend against Shaw and Tuskegee at Jenkins Field House.

The fourth-ranked Moccasins will open the two-game stretch on Friday, Dec. 20 against Shaw University at 7:30 p.m., before facing Tuskegee on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. The Shaw game will be the third of three games on Friday at Jenkins Field House as the Moccasin women are hosting two games on the first day of its annual Terrace Hotel Classic.

FSC, who is playing its second and third games this weekend as part of its nearly month-long homestand, come into play ranked fourth in this week's fifth regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll and are one of 21 remaining undefeated teams in Division II and one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Sunshine State Conference as Barry is currently 7-0 on the season.

The Mocs come into this weekend's final two games of its pre-Christmas schedule sporting a 10-0 record after posting a 93-64 win last Saturday at home over Palm Beach Atlantic. FSC has started 10-0 for the just the 10th time in school history and first time since the 2009-10 squad won its first 13 games of the season en route to posting a 25-5 record. Along with winning its first 10 games this season, the Mocs also enter the weekend having won 16 consecutive regular season non-conference games and nine straight games at home since falling to Florida Tech 83-79 in its second to last regular season home contest last season on Feb. 23.

As a team, the Mocs continue to be one of the top scoring teams in Division II as they are averaging an SSC-best 89.1 points per game and they have scored 80 or more points in eight of 10 games, including tallying 90 or more points in four of its last five contests. In addition to leading the league in scoring, the Mocs are also second in the SSC in field goal percentage (48.2 percent) and are fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (33.5 percent) and are making 7.0 treys per game, which is fifth-best in the league. The Mocs are also second in the league in free throw shooting (74.3 percent) and are outscoring its foes by a league-best 15.6 points per game and have a turnover margin of +4.0 and a rebound margin of +5.5.

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 15.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in seven of 10 games, including a team-best four 20-plus point efforts. In addition to Capers, senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is averaging 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the floor and 39 percent from downtown and over his last five games, he is averaging 18.0 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the floor and 46 percent from the 3-point line and has scored in double figures in five consecutive games, while junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.) is averaging 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is second in the SSC in field goal percentage (64.5 percent) and has reached double figures in six of 10 games, including four times in his last six outings.

Shaw comes into Friday's match-up with FSC sporting a 2-6 overall record and are fresh off a 77-73 overtime win last Saturday at the University of Charleston (W.Va.). That win over Charleston snapped a six-game losing skid for the Shaw as the Bears hadn't won a game since opening the season with an 81-79 win against Mount Olive. The Bears have played a fairly challenging slate of opponents this season as their previous six opponents (they played Charleston and GRU-Augusta twice this season) have combined to post a 37-18 record, including two teams, GRU-Augusta (8-2) and seventh-ranked Indiana (Pa.) (8-0), who have won eight games apiece. All but one team Shaw has played, Barton (4-7), has posted a winning record so far this season.

The Bears, who are members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), are led by the play of senior guard Curtis Himes and senior guard Andre Paulk. Himes is the No. 3 scorer in the CIAA as he enters the weekend averaging nearly 20 points per game, 19.8 to be exact on the season and he is shooting 49 percent from the field and 89 percent at the line and he has reached double figures in all eight games, including tallying 20 or more points four times, while Paulk is averaging 15.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 57 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line and he has reached double figures in all eight games and has recorded two double-doubles.

As a team, Shaw, who is coached by Cleo Hill, Jr., who is in his fifth season with the Bears, is averaging 69.1 points per game and are shooting 49 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line and is getting outscored by 5.9 points per game as their opponents are averaging 75.0 points per game. The Bears have scored over 70 points in its last three games and have allowed 70 or more points in its five games, including allowing a season-high 82 points in an 83-74 loss to Pitt-Johnstown on Dec. 1.

Meanwhile, Tuskegee enters its game on Sunday with the Mocs sporting a 3-5 overall record. The Golden Tigers, who are from the SIAC, have dropped two of its last three games with the only win being a 71-63 victory on Wednesday at Eckerd. Much like Shaw, Tuskegee has also played a challenging schedule this season as their six Division II opponents (they played North Alabama twice) have posted a combined record of 30-17. The Golden Tigers other wins this season have come against North Alabama (85-82) and Virginia Union (102-94). USC-Aiken, who is 9-2 on the year, defeated TU, 93-67, while UNA, who is 7-2 this year, earned an 88-80 win and Johnson C. Smith, who is also 7-2 this year, defeated TU, 73-69. TU's other loss was a 66-64 neutral court setback to NCAA Division I foe, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Golden Tigers, who have posted four consecutive winning seasons, including finishing with a 15-13 record last season, are led by senior forward Richard Dixon, who is averaging 15.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and 72 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in six of seven games, including tallying 20 or more points in two of his last three games. In addition to Dixon, who has yet to start a game this season, senior guard Javier McKinney is averaging 15.3 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 78 percent at the line and he has collected 17 steals and has reached double figures in six of eight games, while senior guard Elliott Dean is averaging 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field, 52 percent from the 3-point line and has scored in double figures in four consecutive games.

Tuskegee is coached by former seven-year NBA player and two-time All-American Leon Douglas. Douglas, who was a four-time All-Conference and two-time All-American while playing at the University of Alabama, was the No. 4 pick in the 1976 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He played in 456 games for both the Pistons and Kansas City Kings and closed his NBA career with 3,587 points and 2,954 rebounds.

As a team, the Golden Tigers are averaging 77.3 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line and they have blocked 42 shots in eight games and are averaging 5.3 blocks per game, which is 30th-best in Division II. On defense, Tuskegee is allowing its foes to score 80.6 points per game and shoot 48 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line.

Friday's game with Shaw will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools and just FSC's eighth-ever game against a team from the CIAA. The Mocs are 7-1 all-time against CIAA foes as they defeated Johnson C. Smith, 92-80 at home last season.

Sunday's meeting with Tuskegee is just the fourth in school history between the two teams as the Mocs lead the series, 2-1. TU won the first-ever meeting between the two schools in the 1979 NCAA Tournament in Lakeland, 107-102, while FSC won the last two meetings as they defeated the Golden Tigers 96-78 on Dec. 19, 2010 in Lakeland and then earned an 88-82 win last season in Lakeland. In addition, it is also the third game this season for the Mocs against an SIAC foe as they opened have picked up wins at Benedict (75-57) and at home against Stillman (104-84) this season.

Following this weekend's action, the Mocs will take 12 days off before returning to the court on Saturday, Jan. 4 as they host Barry in a 7:30 p.m. SSC game at Jenkins Field House. Seven of those 12 days off (Dec. 23-29) are mandated by the NCAA as part of its Division II "Life in Balance" initiative that was implemented a few seasons ago.  

Live stats for the Shaw game: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=30012.

Live stats for the Tuskegee game: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=30159

Live webcast and audio broadcast of the games will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com.

Shaw-Tuskegee Game Notes