LAKELAND - Fourth-ranked Florida Southern is set to begin its 16-game Sunshine State Conference schedule Saturday afternoon as the Moccasins travel to Davie for a match-up against Nova Southeastern. Tip-off for Saturday's conference opener for both teams is slated for 4 p.m. at the NSU Arena on the Nova Southeastern campus.
The Moccasins, who shared the regular season SSC title last season with Saint Leo and has claimed a league-best 20 regular season championships, enters Saturday's SSC opener sporting an 8-0 overall record after picking up two huge South Region victories last weekend at the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic at Jenkins Field House. Last weekend, the Mocs opened the two-day annual event with a 104-84 win over Stillman and then they claimed a 94-85 win last Saturday over North Alabama in the championship game. FSC's 8-0 start is its 13th in school history and first since opening the 2009-10 campaign by winning its first 13 games.
Along with riding an eight-game winning streak heading into Saturday's game at Nova Southeastern, the Mocs, who have scored 90 or more points in three consecutive games, have also won two consecutive SSC games dating to last season and they have won five consecutive regular season games away from home dating to last season.  ÂÂ
Meanwhile, NSU comes into the game riding a two-game winning streak that has improved its record to 2-5 on the season. The Sharks, who dropped its first five games to open the 2013-14 season, began its current winning streak with an 86-67 win last Friday in Miami Shores against Belmont Abbey, before earning an impressive 77-59 win just three days ago at Florida International. The win over FIU was the Sharks' first-ever over an NCAA Division I program in school history. FIU entered the game with a 7-3 record on the season.
Saturday's game will mark the 26th meeting all-time between the two teams, including the second meeting this season, as FSC holds a commanding 20-5 edge in the series. FSC has won three straight games in the series and 10 of its last 11 meetings with the Sharks only win coming in Fort Lauderdale during the 2011-12 season as they defeated the Mocs 90-79. The Mocs hold a 13-1 lead in Lakeland and also lead 7-4 at NSU. Mocs coach Linc Darner is 12-4 against the Sharks. Last season, the Mocs swept the season series against the Sharks as FSC won 78-68 in Davie and then collected an 81-70 win in Lakeland.
Nova Southeastern, who was tabbed to finish seventh in the Preseason SSC poll, will provide a strong challenge to the Moccasins as they lead the SSC in 3-point field goal percentage (39.3 percent) and is third in the league in field goal percentage (48.0 percent) and is hitting an SSC-best 9.7 treys per game and is averaging 77.7 points per game. The Sharks have scored over 80 points in four games, including two times in its last three outings. On defense, NSU is allowing 77.7 points per game and is holding its foes to 48 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line and is getting outrebounded by 4.4 boards per game and has committed 15.6 turnovers per game and has forced 15.6 turnovers per contest.
The Sharks recent success can be attributed to a change in the starting line-up as the Sharks have started five guards in its last two games and over those two games, NSU is averaging 81.5 points per game and they have 14 3-pointers in both games and is shooting 46 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line.
Leading the way for the Sharks is junior guard Brian Cahill. Cahill is averaging a team-best 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line and he has reached double figures in six consecutive games. In addition to Cahill, junior guard Justin Jeangerard is averaging 12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line and is averaging 2.0 made treys per game and scored 21 points in the win over FIU, while sophomore forward/guard Chris Page is averaging 11.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and is seventh in the league in free throw shooting at 89 percent and junior guard Maurice Fuller is averaging 10.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and is averaging 2.1 made treys per game.
The Sharks are under the direction of 10th-year head coach Gary Tuell, who has compiled a 118-137 record at NSU and is 428-342 in his 20th season as a collegiate head coach.
While the Sharks are one of the top shooting teams from the field, the Mocs, who were tabbed to win the SSC title in the Preseason Poll, are still one of the top scoring teams in Division II and the SSC as FSC is second in the league in scoring as they are averaging 89.9 points per game and have scored 75 or more points in 12 consecutive games dating to last season's SSC Tournament Championship game against Rollins. Along with averaging nearly 90 points per game, the Mocs are shooting 48.4 percent from the field and are outscoring its first eight opponents by a margin of 15.1 points per game and is third in the league in free throw shooting at 74.3 percent. The Mocs also are second in the league in steals (9.3 per game) and lead the league in turnover margin (+4.8). ÂÂ
Leading the way for the Mocs is junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.), senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.). Capers is averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game and is also averaging 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game and he is shooting 56 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in all eight games, including a team-best four 20-plus point efforts. Lane is averaging 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 37 percent from the field and he has made a team-best 15 treys and his 1.9 made 3-pointers per game is fourth-best in the SSC, while Battle is averaging 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting an SSC-best 72 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 69 percent at the free throw line and has reached double figures in five of eight games.
Other key performers for the Mocs are junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio), senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio), redshirt senior forward Garrett Putman (Washington, D.C.) and senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.). Kelly is averaging 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and had a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio and is shooting 36 percent from the field and 70 percent at the line, while McKnight is averaging 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 36 percent from long distance and 77 percent at the line. Putman is averaging 8.3 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 62 percent from the field and is 18-for-20 from the free throw line and Adams is averaging 7.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 77 percent at the line.
Following Saturday's action, the Mocs will take another week off to complete first semester final exams before returning to the court on Saturday, Dec. 14 as they host Palm Beach Atlantic in a non-conference tilt scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. at Jenkins Field House.
Live stats will be available here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/nova/mbball/
Live audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com
Live webcast of the game will be available here: http://www.nsusharks.com/showcase/
Nova Southeastern Game Notes
