Box Score
KISSIMMEE - In a game that saw a combined 24 made three-pointers, it was a trey by sophomore Tyler Kelly with 7.1 seconds left that gave Florida Southern a 67-66 advantage and helped lead the 10th-ranked Moccasins to a 72-66 victory over fifth-seeded Rollins to secure the 2013 Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championships here Sunday afternoon at the Silver Spurs Arena.
With the victory, the Mocs take home its 21st SSC Tournament title and its second consecutive as FSC, who improved to 23-5 overall and extended its win streak to five straight games, took home last season's title with its 61-58 win over Saint Leo. The Mocs became the first repeat champion since Rollins claimed back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
"The play was designed for Seth, but he was covered, so T.K. got the ball, I told him to shoot it and had a great look at the basket," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said after winning his fourth SSC Tournament title as the Mocs coach. "Our guys never quit today, we could've when got down early, but we made some shots and got some stops on the defense. We found a way to win the game."
Following Kelly's trey, Rollins' Dave Diakite missed a shot that would given the Tars the lead, but the shot hit off the back of the backboard give the ball back to the Mocs. On the ensuing inbounds play, senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) was fouled by Diakite and drew a two technicals and was ejected for arguing the call. Evans hit 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.
Evans, who earned the SSC Tournament MVP honor for the second consecutive season, led the way with 26 points and added five assists. Evans finished the game with six treys as the Mocs hit 13 in the game.
In addition to Evans, senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.) had 16 points and six boards, while sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio), who was also named to the All-Tournament Team, added 11 points and six boards. All of Vines' 11 points came in the second half as he hit three consecutive 3-pointers that was part of a 28-14 run that gave the Mocs a 63-62 lead on a lay-up by Bailey with 4:31 left.
"Brett Bailey had a huge game for us today. He hit some big buckets in the second half and also got some big boards," the Mocs coach added.
That scoring run came after Rollins opened the second half on an 11-5 run to turn its 37-30 lead into a 48-35 advantage following a trey by Diakite. Diakite, who was one of two Tars named to the All-Tournament Team, finished with 11 points and 12 boards.
Following the Mocs run, the Tars scored four straight points to a take a 66-64 lead after a lay-up by Mitch Woods with 1:53 left. That would be the final basket of the game until Kelly's trey with 7.1 seconds left.
"Everyone in the gym thought the ball was going to Seth, but he was covered, so I was able to step up and hit the shot," said Kelly, who finished with nine points.
The Tars, who fell to 19-10 with the loss, was paced by 22 points from Brett Chance, while Kyle McClanahan added 14 points. Chance scored 16 of Rollins' 37 first half points.
In the first half, it looked like Rollins would be celebrating its fifth SSC Tournament title as they led 8-3 just five minutes into the game. The Tars lead ballooned to 20-4 following a jump shot from 17 feet by Woods with 10:17 remaining in the opening half. Woods was the other Tar to make the All-Tournament Team.
During the run, the Mocs hit just one of its first 13 shots and committed three turnovers, while Rollins hit seven of its first 11 shots, including going 4-for-5 from the 3-point line.
Following the under-12 minute media timeout, the Mocs got back-to-back treys from Evans and junior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) to jump start a 20-2 run that gave the Mocs a 24-22 lead following a trey by Evans with 6:45 left in the half. During the run, Evans hit four three-pointers that moved him over 1,000 points in his two-year Moccasin career. Evans has now scored 1,013 points in his career, which is 34th on the school's all-time charts.
Rollins would answer the Mocs run with an 11-2 run over a span of nearly two-and-half minutes to retake the lead at 33-26 following a second consecutive trey by Chance. Chance scored all 11 of the Tars points during the run.
The teams each scored four points apiece to close the first half as Rollins led 37-30 at the half.
For the game, the Mocs shot 40 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line, while Rollins finished the game shooting 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line. The Tars connected on 12-of-24 treys, while FSC hit 13-of-34 from long distance.
The Mocs were outrebounded 33-30, but forced Rollins into 20 turnovers that led to 28 points. The Mocs finished with just 11 turnovers in the game.
Sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) dished out six assists and scored seven points for the Mocs to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
The other member of the six-player All-Tournament Team was Eckerd's Darrien Mack.
FSC will return to action next weekend as they are expected to be named as the host school for the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament. The tournament will be held from March 16-19. The NCAA will announce the 64 team field at 10:30 p.m. EST online at www.ncaa.com.
