Mocs Set to Host Longtime Rival Tampa Wednesday

LAKELAND - Florida Southern will look to tie its best start to a season in school history here on Wednesday evening as the second-ranked Moccasins renew its annual rivalry with Tampa in a 7:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference showdown at Jenkins Field House.

The Mocs enter Wednesday's game having opened the season by winning its first 17 games for only the second time in school history and the first time since FSC opened the 1999-00 season by winning its first 18 games en route to finishing with a 32-2 overall record and advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Along with winning 17 straight games, the Mocs have also won 14 straight home games since falling to Florida Tech in its second to last regular season game last year and have also reeled off nine straight SSC games dating to last season.

FSC comes into its first of two match-ups with Tampa this season on Wednesday sporting a 17-0 overall record and a 6-0 mark in the SSC after posting a thrilling 87-85 come-from-behind win on Saturday at home over Florida Tech. The Mocs current 17 game win streak is the longest active streak in Division II men's basketball.

Meanwhile, Tampa enters the game having won two straight games to improve its record to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the SSC. The Spartans have won six of its last seven games overall with its only setback being a 71-66 loss at Florida Tech on Jan. 11. Since that loss, the Spartans have picked up wins over Eckerd (64-49) and Lynn (51-46).    

Wednesday's game will mark the 161st meeting between the two rivals that are about 40 miles apart on I-4. FSC holds an all-time record of 90-70 in the series, including holding a 58-35 mark since Tampa re-instated men's basketball in 1983-84 after a 12-year hiatus. The Mocs have won 12 straight games in the series and Mocs seventh-year head coach Linc Darner is 13-3 all-time against UT. The current 12 game winning streak for FSC in the series is the longest for either team since they first met on the hardwood in 1933. The two teams will meet for a second time this season on Feb. 26 in Tampa. 

Tampa, who was picked to finish tied for eighth in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll, comes into Wednesday's game with three players averaging in double figures as senior guard D'Markco Foster is leading the way as he averages 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game and is shooting 37 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent at the free throw line and has scored in double figures in eight games, including five 20-plus point efforts. In addition to Foster, junior guard Jordan Davis is averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and is third in the SSC in assists (6.9 per game) and is shooting 33 percent from the field and 80 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in nine games and has had double-digit assists in four games.

The third double-figure scorer for the Mocs is senior guard/forward Eric Moraes. Moraes, who has scored in double figures in nine games and has recorded four double-doubles, is averaging 11.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and is fourth in the league in field goal percentage (57.6 percent) and is third in blocked shots (1.5 blocks/game).

As a team, the Spartans, who are 3-2 away from home this season, including being 1-2 on the road in SSC play, is one of the top defensive teams in the league as they are second in the league and 15th nationally in scoring defense as they are allowing just 62.0 points per game and they lead the league and are 27th nationally in field goal percentage defense (39.2 percent). In addition, UT is fifth in the SSC in 3-point field goal defense (31.1 percent) and fourth in both steals (7.5 per game) and blocked shots (3.4 per game). They have allowed only four teams to score over 70 points this season and held its last two opponents under 50 points. Offensively, UT is averaging 67.9 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line and has a +1.2 turnover margin and has scored 75 or more points in four games on the year.

UT is under the direction of 31st-year head coach Richard Schmidt. Schmidt, who is the second longest active tenured coach in the league, has compiled a 601-292 record with the Spartans and is 632-319 in his 33rd season as a collegiate head coach. In his 31 years at UT, Schmidt, who was inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame in  2004, has led the school to 26 winning seasons and 15 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. During the 2011-12 season, Schmidt became just the fourth active Division II coach to win 600 career games.

The Spartans defensive numbers will be tested on Wednesday night by the Mocs high-scoring, high-octane offense as FSC leads the league and is eighth nationally in scoring as they are averaging 90.4 points per game and have scored 80 or more points in eight consecutive games and 15 times in 17 games. Additionally, FSC also leads the league in field goal percentage (48.0 percent) and free throw percentage (73.9 percent) and is also shooting 31 percent from the 3-point line and leads the league in turnover margin (+5.3) and is fifth in made 3-pointers per game (6.7). On defense, FSC is allowing 75.8 points per game and is outscoring teams by an SSC-best +14.5 margin and is limiting teams to 44 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent shooting from the 3-point line. The Mocs also are averaging an SSC-best 9.1 steals per game.

The Mocs offensive attack is paced by junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) and senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Capers is averaging 18.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games, including a team-best nine 20-plus point efforts. He has scored 20 or more points in five of his last seven outings, including tallying a career-high tying 32 points in last outing against Florida Tech. Lane is averaging 14.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and is averaging 2.3 made treys per game, which is third-best in the SSC. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 13 games.

FSC's third double-digit scorer this season is junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.). Battle, who is a transfer from Gannon (Pa.) University, is averaging 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is third in the SSC in field goal shooting (58.8 percent) and is also shooting 73 percent at the foul line and has reached double figures in 10 games, including eight times in his last 13 outings.

Following Wednesday's game, the Mocs will take a week off from action before closing out the first half of SSC play on Wednesday, Jan. 29 with a 7:30 p.m. game in Winter Park against Rollins.

Live stats will be available here: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=30017.

Live webcast and audio broadcast of the game will be available here: http://fscmocs.nmtvsports.com

Tampa Game Notes