Mocs Defeat Eckerd in Overtime, Advance to SSC Tournament Final

KISSIMMEE - Florida Southern outscored Eckerd 31-17 over the final four minutes of regulation and five minutes in overtime here Saturday evening to collect an 85-80 win over 25th-ranked Eckerd in the semifinals of the 2013 Sunshine State Conference Tournament at the Silver Spurs Arena to advance to the tournament championship game for the second consecutive season and 25th time in school history.

With the win, the 10th-ranked Moccasins advance to Sunday's SSC Tournament Championship game where they will face No. 5 seeded Rollins at 3:30 p.m. Rollins earned a spot in the championship game thanks to its 62-53 upset win over No. 1 seeded Saint Leo in Saturday's other semifinal game. The Mocs won both regular season meetings this year against the Tars as they picked up a 97-74 win in Winter Park on Jan. 30 and then closed the regular season last Saturday with a 76-73 win in Lakeland.

The victory, which improved the No. 2 seeded Mocs to 23-5 overall on the season, extended the Mocs winning streak to four consecutive victories. Eckerd had its seven-game win streak snapped with the loss and fell to 20-7 on the year.

"What a great game. I thought we were done when we got down nine points with four minutes left, but we got some stops on defense, made some plays and were able to hit some free throws to get the game into overtime," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said. "And then in overtime, we got two big three's from Seth (Evans) and were able to get some momentum."

"We had a lot of guys step up tonight and make some plays."

One of those players that stepped up down the stretch and in overtime were sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Park, Fla.), who scored 17 points in the second half, including hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final 3:30 of regulation to force overtime. Capers, who finished with 28 points in the win, hit 3-for-4 free throws in the final 38 seconds to send the game into overtime.

"Kevin made some big plays for us tonight and was able to get to the free throw line," the Mocs coach added.

Another player that stepped up was senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.), who scored 15 of his points in the final four minutes of regulation and overtime, including hitting back-to-back treys to open the overtime session. The treys gave the Mocs a 79-73 advantage.

Evans jump started the Mocs run near the end of regulation by hitting three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point shot attempt with 3:59 remaining in the game. He would draw the Mocs within a point at 65-64 following a trey with 2:54 left in the game. After Evans' trey, Eckerd extended its lead to three points on three different occasions, the final time after Mack hit 1-of-2 free throws with 45 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Capers pulled FSC within two points at 73-71 after hitting 1-of-2 free throws and Capers forced overtime by hitting two more free throws with six seconds left.

After hitting those two treys in overtime, Evans would hit 3-of-4 foul shots in the final two minutes of the game, including sealing the victory with two free throws with nine seconds left.

The Mocs, who trailed 38-33 at the half, opened the second half on a 17-3 run to push out to a 50-41 lead following a three-pointer by sophomore guard Tyler Kelly (Pickington, Ohio) with 12:40 left in the game. Kelly finished with 12 points for the game.

During the run, the Mocs defense picked up its intensity in the second half as the Tritons hit only one of its first eight field goal attempts in the second half and forced five Eckerd turnovers. On the night, FSC forced Eckerd into 21 turnovers that led to 23 points. FSC committed just 15 turnovers, but EC scored 22 points off those miscues.

The Tritons, who fell to 3-8 against FSC in the SSC Tournament, stopped the Mocs second half run with a basket by Mack to pull Eckerd within 50-43 with 11:40 left. Capers, though, pushed the Mocs lead back to nine with 11:31 left in the regulation.

Following Capers' bucket, Eckerd scored 12 straight points to take a 55-52 lead following a free throw by Jerrick Stevenson with 7:43 remaining in the contest.

The Tritons lead grew to as much as 65-56 following two free throws by Alex Bodney with 4:14 left in the game.

Evans pulled the Mocs three points closer as he drilled three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point shot with 3:59 remaining and Capers hit two more free throws 32 seconds later to pull the Mocs within 65-61.

Mack led the way for Eckerd as he finished a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds. In three games this season against the Mocs, Mack scored 77 points and had 41 rebounds. In addition to Mack, Bodney finished with 22 points.

The Mocs scored the game's first two points, before Eckerd scored the next points to jump out to a 9-2 lead just a little under three minutes into the game. Six of the Tritons came on the inside from First-Team All-SSC performer Darrien Mack, who scored 18 of his team's 38 first half points. 

Following Eckerd's run, the Mocs used a 17-7 run over the next four minutes to take a 19-16 lead following a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Cameron Vines (Columbus, Ohio). The run was keyed by six points from Evans and five points from Vines and Capers.

The Tritons answered FSC's run with an 8-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to take a 24-21 lead, including retaking the lead on a basket by E.J. Moody with 10:05 left in the first half, before the Mocs scored four of the next six points to pull within 26-25 following a put-back by junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.).

Eckerd, though, would extend its lead out to 33-27 following a 7-2 run that was capped by a lay-up from Mack, before the Mocs closed the half scoring six of the final 11 points to go into halftime trailing 38-33. Capers and Vines combined to score FSC's final eight points of the half.

Vines was the other Moc to score in double figures as he had 12 points and six boards.

For the game, FSC shot 37 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line, while Eckerd shot 46 percent from the floor, but just 24 percent from long distance. The Mocs outrebounded the Tritons, 41-40 as Evans pulled down a team-high eight.