10th-Ranked Mocs Survive in Double Overtime At Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG - Junior guard Kevin Capers hit two free throws with 10.7 seconds left in double overtime to help 10th-ranked Florida Southern post a thrilling, come-from-behind 104-103 victory over Eckerd in Sunshine State Conference action at the McArthur Center on the Eckerd campus.

The victory, which helped improved the Moccasins to 21-2 overall and 10-2 in the SSC, snapped a two-game road losing skid for the Mocs as FSC had dropped its last two road games in overtime at Rollins (82-76) two weeks ago and then fell 94-76 last week at Barry. Ironically, both of FSC's losses this season have come on Wednesday. Wednesday's game featured 18 ties and 26 lead changes.

"It was an unbelievable game tonight against two very good teams," Mocs head coach Linc Darner said following that game that featured a combined 207 points. "Kevin hit some big throws there at the end of the game and then stepped up to make a big play on defense to seal the win."

With the victory, the Mocs improved to 20-0 when scoring 100 points under Darner as the school's head coach, including topping the century mark for the third time this season. In addition, the 103 points scored by Eckerd is tied for most points allowed by the Mocs in the Darner era as Nova Southeastern scored 103 points in FSC's 104-103 win over the Sharks on Feb. 26, 2011 in Davie.

FSC, who trailed 44-41 at the half, outscored in the Tritons, 39-36 in the second half and forced overtime when junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.) hit 1-of-2 free throws with 25 seconds left in regulation. The Tritons had a chance to win the game, but Josh Snodgrass misfired on his shot attempt with five seconds left.

In the first overtime session, Capers hit two free throws with 13.4 seconds left to tie the game at 91 and then collected on steal on Eckerd's ensuing possession to send the game into a second overtime.

The second overtime was a back-and-forth affair as Eckerd led 96-93 following two free throws by Malcolm Brunner, Jr. with 2:55 left. The Mocs, though, used a 9-4 run to take a 102-100 lead following a basket by senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.) with 40 seconds left. Kendall Roberts gave Eckerd a 103-102 lead with 12.2 seconds left following a three-pointer and on the ensuing possession, Capers was fouled driving to the basket and he hit two free throws to give FSC the lead for the final time. Capers would seal the win as he picked up a steal on Snodgrass at midcourt to prevent Eckerd from getting off a game winning shot.

"We wanted to keep Snodgrass away from the ball on that final possession and as he got the ball, we sent two players at him and Kevin was able to force a turnover," said Darner, who won his 177th game as the Mocs coach.

Capers finished the night with 20 points, including scoring a combined 11 points in the two overtime periods. In addition to Capers, Adams finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) added 20 points and five boards off the bench. The final Moc in double figures was junior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio), who finished with 13 points in the win.

Adams scored 16 of his season-high 22 points after halftime, including scoring six points in the overtime periods, while McKnight had 13 of his 20 points after halftime.

"I thought Frank and Lamar really played well tonight and hit some big shots for us," the Mocs coach added.

Trialing by four points at the half, the Mocs opened the second half on a 15-9 run to take a 56-53 lead following a trey by McKnight with 13:36 left in the regulation. After two free throws by Matt Beneduci pulled the Tritons within a point at 56-55, the Mocs used a 6-0 run to take a 62-55 lead following a jumper by sophomore guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) with 10:32 remaining.

Eckerd would slowly chip away at FSC's lead as they used a 12-4 run to take a 67-66 lead following two free throws by Jerrick Stevenson with 7:01 left in the second half. The Mocs would respond with four straight points to retake a 70-67 lead.

The Tritons (13-10 overall, 5-6 SSC) wouldn't go away as they used a 9-3 run capped by a lay-up from Alex Bodney with 2:58 left to take a 76-73 advantage. FSC would respond with four straight points, including a bucket by McKnight to take a 77-76 lead with 2:07 remaining. Eckerd would retake the lead 20 seconds later on a trey by Stevenson, before Kelly stepped to the free throw line at two free throws with 1:29 left to tie the game at 79.

Snodgrass has the chance to be the hero for the Tritons as he stepped to the line with 36.4 seconds left, but he hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Tritons an 80-79 lead. On the ensuing possession, Bodney fouled Battle on a rebound and Battle stepped to the line where he hit 1-of-2 at the stripe to tie game.

Eckerd was paced by 25 points from Snodgrass, while Bodney had 19 points, including 12 points in the first half, before fouling out with 13.4 seconds left in the first overtime. Stevenson, who also fouled out, finished with 13 points, while Ray Darnell added 12 points and E.J. Moody chipped in with 11 points. The final Triton in double figures was Brunner, Jr., who had 10 points and nine boards.

On the night, five players fouled out the game, including three Tritons and two Moccasins as 53 fouls were called and the teams combined to shoot 72 free throws. The Mocs finished the game with 32 free throw attempts as they were 25-for-32 (78.1 percent) at the line, while Eckerd was 30-for-40 (75 percent) at the line, including going 20-for-24 at the line in the second half and overtime. The Mocs were 19-for-25 at the line at the line in the second half and overtime.  

The Mocs shot 51 percent from the field, but connected on just 23 percent (3-for-13) from the 3-point line for the game, while the Tritons shot 44 percent from the field and connected on 45 percent of its 3-point shots.

Both teams collected 43 rebounds and the Tritons committed 18 turnovers that led to 15 FSC points. FSC had 16 turnovers that led to 18 points for Eckerd.

In the first half, the Mocs jumped out to an 8-3 lead just a little over four minutes into the game thanks to back-to-back baskets by Capers, before the Tritons used a 10-4 run to take a 13-12 lead following two free throws by Brunner, Jr., with 12:08 left in the opening half.

FSC would answer Eckerd's run with an 18-8 run to push out to a 30-21 advantage following a bucket by Adams with 5:05 left. The Tritons, though, would close the first half on a 23-11 run to go into halftime with a 44-41 lead. The Tritons run was keyed by three 3-pointers, including two from Bodney.

"For us to go into halftime just down three with Kevin and T.K. each having two fouls in the first half was huge," said Darner, who is now 11-7 against Eckerd as the Mocs coach.

The Mocs will conclude its two-game road swing on Saturday, Feb. 15 as they travel to Melbourne to face Florida Tech (14-9 overall, 4-8 SSC) in a 4 p.m. match-up at the Clemente Center. The Mocs collected a come-from-behind 87-85 win in Lakeland on Jan. 18.