Box Score
LAKELAND - For the second straight game, Florida Southern saw its perfect season hanging in the balance here Wednesday evening, but the second-ranked Moccasins rallied to post an 87-83 double overtime victory over Tampa in Sunshine State Conference action in front of a season-high 1,543 fans at Jenkins Field House.
With the victory, the Mocs improve to 18-0 on the season and 7-0 in the SSC and extend its home court win streak to 15 straight games and its SSC win streak to nine consecutive games dating to last season. In addition, the victory also helped the Mocs match its best start in school history as the 1999-00 squad opened the season by winning its first 18 games en route to posting a 32-2 overall record and earning a spot in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
"It was a good win tonight for our team. We didn't play very well, but Tampa had something to do with that," Moccasins head coach Linc Darner said following his 174th win as FSC's coach. "We found a way to win again after not playing very well and that is a mark of a good team."
The Mocs, who came back from a six-point deficit with 1:13 left in the game on Saturday against Florida Tech to post a thrilling 87-85 win over the Panthers, trailed by six points just 90 seconds into the first overtime period against the Spartans, before scoring the final six points to force a second overtime. In the second overtime, junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) scored 10 of his game-high 26 points, including hitting six consecutive free throws to help seal the Mocs kept its perfect season intact.
It was the first double overtime for the Mocs since posting a 108-104 win at North Florida on Nov. 24, 2001. Additionally, it was FSC's first overtime game since earing an 85-80 win in overtime against Eckerd in the semifinals of the 2013 SSC Tournament.
With his 26 points, Capers, who made his first start of the season and just the 22nd of his collegiate career, has now scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season and has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games. In addition, he moved up to 15th on the school's career scoring as he has now scored 1,206 career points.
At the end of regulation, senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) had the play of the season to date as he blocked a lay-up attempt by Matt Johnson with three seconds left in the game to force overtime. Johnson had given the Spartans a 68-66 lead with 1:27 left following two free throws, before McKnight tied the game up 20 seconds later on a jumper just outside the lane.
McKnight came the rescue again at the end of the first overtime as he collected a rebound in traffic following a missed 3-point attempt by Jordan Davis to push the game into a second overtime period. McKnight finished with a double-double as he scored 13 points and recorded a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
"Lamar really stepped up and made some big plays tonight. His block at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime was a huge play," Darner added.
The Mocs appeared to be on cruise control throughout the first half as they used a 15-2 run over a span of nearly five minutes in the first half to turn a 24-21 lead into a 39-23 advantage following two free throws by junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) with 3:41 left in the opening half. That 16 point lead was the largest of the night for either team.
Following FSC's run, the Spartans, who fell to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the SSC with the loss, used an 8-0 run keyed by five points from Vincent Cornu to push within 39-31 with 1:24 left in the half. The Mocs would get a lay-up from McKnight just 22 seconds later to push its halftime lead to 41-31.
The Mocs opened the second half on an 8-4 run to push its halftime lead to 49-35 following a 3-pointer by Capers with 17:31 left in the game. From that point, UT mounted a comeback as they used a 25-11 run over the next 11 minutes to tie the game at 60 following a lay-up by Ryan Kidd. Kidd's lay-up capped a 8-0 run by the Spartans. During the run, the Mocs were held without a field goal and committed six turnovers as they finished the game with a season-high 24 turnovers that led to 23 UT points.
"We can't turn the ball over 23 times, that is just too many turnovers. We have to get better at protecting the basketball," the Mocs coach said.
The Mocs would answer Kidd's lay-up with two free throws by Capers with 5:11 left in the game to take a 62-60 lead and would push its lead to 64-60 a little over a minute later on a lay-up by sophomore guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.). Williams' lay-up was the Mocs first field goal in a little over six minutes. Prior to Williams' basket, the Mocs previous field goal came on a bucket by McKnight with 10:22 left in the game.
UT, though, wouldn't go away as they scored six straight points to take a 66-64 lead on a lay-up and a free throw to complete a 3-point play by Eric Moraes with 2:35 left in the game. Williams, who scored nine points and had five boards off the bench in the win, would tie the game 12 seconds later with two free throws, before Johnson's two free throws gave UT its two-point lead with a little under 90 seconds left in regulation.
In addition to Capers and McKnight, two other Mocs finished the night in double figures as Kelly scored a career-high 17 points and added eight boards and four assists, while senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished with 10 points, of which, eight came during the first half.
The Spartans finished the night by having six players score in double figures led by a double-double effort of 17 points and 11 rebounds by Cornu. In addition to Cornu, Moraes finished with 14 points and eight boards, while Jordan Davis added 12 points, six boards and nine assists in the loss. Johnson finished with 11 points off the bench, while Kidd and Fred Lewis each tallied 10 points for UT.
FSC finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line, while UT shot 39 percent from the field and just 29 percent from the 3-point line. In the overtime, both teams combined to connect on just 11 of its 29 field goal attempts.
Both teams were strong at the foul line as UT shot 71 percent (17-for-24) from the line, while the Mocs hit 75 percent (21-for-28) of its free throws.
Despite losing the turnover battle, 24-15, the Mocs did finish with a 52-42 edge on the glass and outscored UT's bench, 29-21 on the night.
The Mocs will now take a week off from action before returning to the court next Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a 7:30 p.m. SSC match-up at Rollins (8-8 overall, 2-4 SSC). The game will Rollins will complete the first half of FSC's SSC schedule.
"It will be good to get a week off and get back into the gym and practice and continue to improve," said Darner, who is now 14-3 against the Spartans as FSC's coach.
