LAKELAND - Florida Southern will look to snap its two-game losing skid in Sunshine State Conference play here Saturday evening as the sixth-ranked Moccasins look to cool down a red-hot Florida Tech team in a 7:30 p.m. match-up at Jenkins Field House.
While FSC enters the game having lost its last two SSC games, Florida Tech comes into Saturday's action as one of the hottest teams in Division II as the Panthers have reeled off six consecutive victories to move its overall record back over .500 on the season and climb the SSC standings.
The Moccasins, who is ranked No. 1 in this week's initial NCAA Division II South Region rankings, are sporting a 19-4 overall record and a sitting a half-game behind first place Saint Leo in the SSC standings with a 10-3 mark, while Tech is 13-10 overall on the season and 6-7 in the SSC. In fact, since losing a hard fought 95-92 game at home to the Mocs on Jan. 26, the Panthers have won six of its last seven games with its only setback being a 77-74 loss at Tampa on Jan. 30.
When FSC, who owns a 91-70 non-conference win at Palm Beach Atlantic in between its two straight SSC losses, faced the Panthers in Melbourne a little less than a month ago, the Mocs were 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the SSC, while Tech was 7-8 and 1-5 in the SSC. Since that meeting, FSC has gone 6-2 and 5-2 in the SSC and Tech has posted a 6-1 overall record and 5-1 mark in the league.
Saturday's game will mark the 92nd all-time meeting in the series between the two schools and the second this year. FSC holds a 68-23 edge in the series and has won seven of the last 10 games with all three of those losses coming in Melbourne. Prior to the Mocs win earlier this season at Tech, FSC has lost in its previous three trips to Melbourne in overtime. FSC is 34-9 at home against Tech and has won seven straight in the series on its homecourt. Mocs seventh-year head coach Linc Darner is 10-6 against the Panthers.
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Saturday's game will feature two teams that play almost the same style as the Mocs and Tech are No. 1 and 2 in the league in scoring and scoring margin as FSC is averaging an SSC-best 86.4 points per game and is outscoring its foes by 12 points per contest, while Tech is averaging 81.1 points per game and is outscoring its foes by 7.6 points per outing. In addition, both teams rank near the top of the league in steals as Tech leads the SSC and is fifth nationally as they average 11.3 per game, while FSC is second in the league and sixth nationally as they average 11.1 thefts per game.
In the earlier meeting this season, the Mocs hit 11 three-pointers and held off a furious second-half surge by the Panthers to post its 95-92 win that was sealed by sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 15 seconds left. In the first half, FSC scored 55 points and hit 10 of its 11 three-pointers for the game as FSC held a 55-43 lead at halftime. In the second half, Tech got back into the game thanks to using a 17-2 run that pushed the Panthers within three points at 84-81 following a lay-up by Terrance Tubbs with 4:39 remaining.
After FSC hit six consecutive free throws and scored on a lay-up by senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) to push its lead back to 92-82. The Panthers, though, responded with an 8-0 run to drop the Mocs lead to 92-90 with 1:39 left. Sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) put the Mocs back in front on his driving lay-up with 32 seconds remaining. Tech's Julius Reid hit two throws to move within 94-92 before Kelly's free throw capped the scoring.
Junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was one of three Mocs to score 19 points in the game as Capers and sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio) each had 19 points. Chris Carter and Reid each scored 23 points in the loss for Tech.
Tech's offense is led by Carter and sophomore guard Jermaine Jackson. Carter is averaging 18.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Jackson, who is the reigning SSC Player of the Week, is averaging 18.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In addition to those two players, Reid is averaging 14.7 points and an SSC-best 4.2 steals per game and Tubbs is the fourth double-digit scorer as he is averaging 11.5 points and 5.2 boards per game.
Meanwhile, FSC's offense has four players averaging in double figures led by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.), who is averaging 15.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and has reached double figures in seven straight games. In addition to Evans, Lane is averaging 14.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures in four straight games and 12 times in his last 13 games and Capers, who is averaging 12.2 points per game off the bench and has reached double figures in five of his last six games. The fourth double figure scorer for the Mocs is Bailey, who is averaging 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and he is shooting an SSC-best 58 percent from the field and enters Saturday's game just 14 points shy of becoming the 36th member of FSC's 1,000-Point Club.
As a team, the Mocs are shooting 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line and lead the SSC in assists (18.1), turnover margin (+7.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). On defense, FSC is allowing teams to score 74.4 points per game and shoot 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from long distance.
Following Saturday's game, the Mocs will close out the road portion of its 2012-13 regular season schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 27 as they travel to Tampa for a 7:30 p.m. SSC showdown against the Spartans. The Mocs picked up a 91-65 win over UT in Lakeland on Jan. 23.
Live stats will be available here: http://fscmocs.athleticsite.net/livestats/mb/xlive.htm.
Live webcast and audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com
