Mocs Put 17-Game Home Win Streak On the Line Wednesday Against Saint Leo

LAKELAND - Florida Southern will put its 17-game home court win streak on the line here Wednesday evening as the eighth-ranked Moccasins play host to Saint Leo in a key 7:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference match-up at Jenkins Field House.

The Moccasins, who are sporting a 22-2 overall record and an 11-2 mark in the SSC, come into Wednesday's action having already claimed at least a share of this season's SSC regular season title and with one more league victory this season, FSC will capture its league-best 21st regular season SSC title and its second straight regular season title as they shared last season's title with Saint Leo.

FSC's current 17-game home court winning streak is the fourth longest active streak in Division II as the Mocs haven't lost a home game since falling 83-78 in its second to last regular season home contest against Florida Tech. Since that loss to the Panthers, the Mocs closed the 2012-13 season by winning its final four home games and have opened this season by winning its first 13 home contests.

In fact, Saint Leo is just one of just three teams to defeat the Mocs at home since the beginning of last season as the Lions earned a 79-75 victory in Lakeland on Feb. 13. The Lions have actually won two straight games in Lakeland as they also earned a 75-72 win at Jenkins Field House during the 2011-12 regular season.

While the Mocs come into play on Wednesday having won three straight games since falling 94-76 at Barry two weeks ago, Saint Leo also comes into play on Wednesday having won three consecutive games and six of its last eight games overall to raise its record to 19-6 overall and move into a tie for third place in the SSC standings with a 7-5 mark. The Lions haven't played since picking up a 57-51 win last Wednesday at home against Tampa. Since falling at home to FSC on Jan. 15, SLU has posted a 6-2 record with its only losses coming at Nova Southeastern (89-63) and at home to Rollins (61-59).

Wednesday's meeting with Saint Leo will mark the 103rd all-time in the series and the second meeting this season. The Mocs hold a commanding 86-16 lead in the series, including winning two straight games since dropping two straight to the Lions. FSC won the first meeting this season, 92-86 in Saint Leo. The two teams will be playing for the eighth time since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. FSC holds a 43-5 edge in Lakeland and also leads 37-9 in Saint Leo. On neutrual courts, FSC holds a 6-2 lead and Mocs head coach Linc Darner is 12-6 all-time against the Lions. 

Saint Leo, who was tabbed to finish third in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll, comes into this week's action as one of the top defensive teams in the SSC as the Lions lead the league in both field goal percentage defense (40.1 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (30.5 percent) and is third in the league and 24th nationally in scoring defense as they are allowing 66.5 points per game and has held its last four opponents under 65 points, including limiting Tampa to just 51 points in its most recent game last Wednesday. The Lions are also second in the league in rebound margin (+5.9) and is second in scoring margin as they are outscoring its foes by 8.4 points per game. In addition to being strong on defense, the Lions are also one of the better offensive teams in the league as they are shooting 44 percent from the field and they are fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (35.6 percent) and is third in the SSC in made 3-pointers per game (7.7) and is fourth in the SSC in free throw percentage (72.8 percent).

The Lions are led offensively by senior guard Jerrel Harris. Harris is third in the league in scoring as he averages 18.7 points per game and is also averaging 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent at the line. On the season, Harris, who is a two-time SSC Player of the Week, has scored in double figures in 21 games, but has been held to just 19 points in his last two games. The other Lion averaging in double figures is senior guard Chim Kadima, who is averaging 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line and he has reached double figures in 14 games.

Other key performers for SLU are junior forward Ron Foxx and senior forward Spenser Mitchell. Foxx is averaging 9.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and is averaging 10.3 points and 7.7 boards per game in SSC play and has blocked a team-best 20 shots, while Mitchell is averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting an SSC-best 65.8 percent from the field.

SLU is under the direction of third-year head coach Lance Randall. Randall, who has led the Lions to three straight winning records in SSC play, is 59-26 at SLU and has compiled a 102-61 record in his sixth season as a collegiate coach.

In the earlier meeting this season, the Mocs, who trailed 47-45 at the half, used a 47 point second half to post an impressive 92-86 win over the Lions. In the game, junior guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) finished the night with 23 points, while senior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tallied 17 points and junior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.) had 14 points and six boards. Two other Mocs finished in double figures in the first match-up as senior guard Frank Adams (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had 13 points and senior forward Lamar McKnight (Cleveland, Ohio) had 11 points and six boards in the win.

SLU's defensive prowess will be put to the test on Wednesday against a Moccasin offense that leads the SSC and is fourth in Division II in scoring as they average 90.0 points per game. The Mocs have scored 90 or more points in three straight games and have scored 75 or more points in 28 consecutive games dating to last season. Along with averaging 90 points per game, the Mocs are also outscoring its foes by an SSC-best 11.8 points per game and lead the league in both field goal percentage (47.4 percent) and free throw percentage (74.4 percent). FSC leads the league in both steals (8.6 per game) and turnover margin (+3.8) and are outrebounding its foes by a +3.7 margin.

Leading the way offensively for the Mocs is Capers, who is leading the league in scoring at 20.2 points per game and has scored in double figures in 21 games and has scored 20 or more points in 16 games, including 10 consecutive 20-plus points games. On the season, Capers has been named an SSC Player of the Week three times and over his last 10 games, he is averaging 25.4 points per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field and 79 percent at the line. Along with 20.2 points per game average, Capers, who tallied a career-high 33 points in his last outing last Saturday at Florida Tech, is also averaging 2.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and 78 percent at the line. In addition to Capers, Adams is averaging 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and has reached double figures in 16 games, including five straight double figure scoring games.

Following Wednesday's game, the Mocs will conclude its regular season non-conference slate by traveling to West Palm Beach to face Palm Beach Atlantic in a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Rubin Arena on the PBA campus. The Mocs earned a 93-64 win over the Sailfish in Lakeland on Dec. 14.

Live stats will be available here: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=30020.

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

Complete Saint Leo Game Notes