LAKELAND - Florida Southern will look to snap its three-game losing skid in Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday evening as the 14th-ranked Moccasins head 40 miles westbound on I-4 for a match-up against its conference archrival, Tampa. Tip-off for the second edition this year's rivalry game with the Spartans is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the UT campus.
The Moccasins, who were ranked No. 1 in the initial NCAA Division II South Regional rankings that came out last Wednesday, but will fall from that top spot after suffering losses last week at Eckerd (85-75) and at home this past Saturday to Florida Tech (83-78), enter play on Wednesday looking to close out the regular season on a winning note as they have two games remaining on the schedule as they host Rollins in a 7:30 p.m. game on Saturday, March 2 for Senior Night at Jenkins Field House.
Wednesday's game will feature a match-up of two teams looking for some momentum heading towards next week's SSC Tournament as both FSC and Tampa enter the game riding losing streaks. While FSC, who is 19-5 overall and is in second place in the SSC standings with a 10-4 mark, has lost three of its last four games with its only win being a 91-70 victory in its non-conference finale at Palm Beach Atlantic on Feb. 16, UT has dropped five straight games and 11 of its last 15 games overall since opening the season with a 12-0 record. The Spartans enter the game with a 16-11 record and are in eighth place in the SSC with a 3-11 league record.
The match-up will mark the second meeting this season between the two schools and the 160th all-time meeting in the series. FSC holds an all-time record of 89-70 in the series, including holding a 57-35 edge in the series since Tampa reinstated men's basketball in 1983-84 after a 12-year hiatus.The Mocs have won 11 straight games in the series, including picking up a 91-65 win earlier this season in Lakeland and Mocs seventh-year head coach Linc Darner is 12-3 all-time against UT. The current 11 game winning streak for FSC in the series is the longest for either team since they first met on the hardwood in 1933.
Tampa, who was picked to finish ninth in the Preseason SSC Poll and has already achieved its third winning season in the last five years, comes into Wednesday's game with two of the top scorers in the league in junior guard Da'Markco Foster and senior guard Anthony Griffis. Foster is tied for fourth in the league in scoring as he averages 16.4 points per game and is also averaging 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from long distance. Foster is eighth in the league in made three-pointers per game (2.1) and has reached double figures in 22 games, including tallying 20 or more points five times, while Griffis is sixth in the SSC in scoring (15.6 ppg) and is second in the SSC in 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (40.4 percent). In addition, he is also averaging 4.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 78 percent at the foul line, which is 13th in the SSC. He has tallied double figures in 22 games and has scored over 20 points seven times. ÂÂ
As a team, the Spartans are averaging 70.1 points per game and are shooting 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and is fourth in the SSC in three-pointers made per game as they average 8.0. In addition, UT leads the league in rebound margin (+5.0) and is fifth in assists as they average 14.2 per game. Defensvely, UT is fifth in the SSC in scoring defense (68.2 points per game) and is allowing its foes to shoot 43 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the 3-point line. The Spartans struggle at the free throw line as they are last in the league in free throw shooting at 61.4 percent.
In the team's earlier meeting this season in Lakeland, the Mocs posted a 91-65 win over the Spartans as used a 26-10 run over a span of seven minutes in the second half to push FSC's lead from 57-50 to 83-60 following a lay-up by senior guard Seth Evans (Marseille, Ill.) with 2:48 left in the game. Evans scored 10 his 15 points during the run.
Junior Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led the way offensively for the Mocs against Tampa as he recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, including scoring 13 of his points in the second half. Senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) had 12 points and sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) added 10 points off the bench in the win. Foster led the way for the Spartans with 19 points, whille Jon Riles added 15 in the loss.
For the game, the Mocs shot 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line, while Tampa finished shooting 35 percent from the floor asnd 18 percent (3-for-17) from downtown. Both teams finished with 39 rebounds, but the Mocs forced UT into 19 turnovers that led to 22 points. The Mocs committed just 12 turnovers and dished out 25 assists on 35 made baskets.
The Mocs come into Wednesday's game as the top scoring team in the SSC as they are 86.1 points per game, which is seventh nationally in Division II. The Mocs have scored 75 or more points in 22 of its 24 games this season and they are shooting 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and are third in the SSC in made three-pointers per game with 8.5. Additionally, the Mocs are outscoring its foes by an SSC-best 11.3 points per game and they lead the league in assists (18.2), turnover margin (+6.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and is second in the league and sixth nationally in steals as they average 11.2 per game.
Defensively, FSC is second in the league in three-point field goal defense as their opponents are shooting 32.9 percent from long distance and their foes are averaging almost 21 turnovers per game. In addition, the Mocs are allowing 74.8 points per game, including allowing three of its last four foes to score over 78 points and their opponents are shooting 45.1 percent from the field.
One area of concern for the Mocs heading into Wednesday's game is its ability to take of the basketball. On the season, the Mocs are one of the better teams in the country at taking care fo the basketball as they are averaging just 13.7 turnovers per game and are seventh in all of NCAA Men's Basketball in turnover margin at +6.8. But over its last five games, the Mocs have struggled with taking care of the ball as they have committed 81 turnovers and have forced just 93. FSC has committed 18 or more turnovers in three of its last four games, including having 18 and 19 turnovers in its losses last week against Eckerd and Florida Tech respectively.
FSC's offense has four players averaging in double figures as Evans and Lane are leading the way. Evans is averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and is second in the league in free throw shooting at 88 percent. On the season, Evans has scored in double figures in 20 games, including eight straight double-digit scoring games and is averaging an SSC-best 3.0 made treys per game, while Lane is averaging 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 76 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in 21 games, including five straight games of scoring 10 or more points. Lane has had a team best three double-doubles on the season.
The other two Mocs averaging in double figures are Capers and Bailey as Capers. Capers, who has yet to start a game this season, is averaging 11.9 points off the bench and Bailey, who is four points shy of becoming the 36th Moccasin to score 1,000 career points, is averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting an SSC-best 57 percent from the field.
Following Wednesday's game, the Mocs will return home to conclude the regular season with a 7:30 p.m. game against Rollins. Prior to the game, the Mocs will honor is five-member senior class in a pregame ceremony. This year's seniors are Bailey, Evans, forward Jon Gardner (Anderson, Ind.), guard Jay Hubble (Pendleton, Ind.) and forward Brant Leitnaker (Lancaster, Ohio).
Live stats will be available here: http://tampaspartans.athleticsite.net/livestats/mb/xlive.htm.
Live audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com
Tampa/Rollins Game Notes
