Box Score
LAKELAND - With three Mocs scoring double-digits, and two recording double-doubles, Florida Southern rolled to a 71-44 victory over Lynn in Sunshine State Conference action at the Jenkins Field House.
With the win, the Moccasins improved their record to 7-14 and 2-9 in the conference, while the Fighting Knights dropped to 11-9 and 4-6 in the SSC with the loss. The win is the second straight for Florida Southern, and their first home win since November 24 against Puerto Rico-Bayamon.
The Moccasins led from start to finish, with sophomore forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) scoring the first points of the contest off a jumper at 19:30. Back-to-back buckets from senior Morgan Lamberg (Mukwonago, Wis.) put FSC up six before Lynn scored the next four points of the game to put the score at 6-4 with 15:57 to go.
A Harris layup, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) put the Mocs up by seven before visiting Lynn scored six straight to keep the deficit to four. Keyed by a Lamberg jumper at 11:04 of the first, Florida Southern sunk four straight buckets to surge ahead 22-10 with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.
The teams traded points for the next two minutes, with the Fighting Knights drawing to within eight after a three-pointer, before freshman forward Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) putting the Mocs back up 10 with a layup.
After another Lynn basket, Florida Southern scored the next six points off buckets from Harris, sophomore guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) and junior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) to pull ahead by 14 with 1:10 left before halftime. Lynn scored the final four points of the half to make it a 10-point game as both teams headed to the locker rooms.
Lamberg led all Moccasin players in scoring with 14 points, while tying with Harris and junior guard Syerra Davis (Tolleson, Ariz.) in rebounding with five apiece. Lamberg also dished out three of FSC's 12 assists, while Davis and Payne each recorded one steal.
Florida Southern scored 24 points in the paint while only allowing eight from Lynn. The Moccasins also scored 15 points off turnovers, 10 second-chance points, and seven points from their bench.
The Mocs kicked off the second half with another basket from Lamberg, followed by a Sanders trey and Thompson jumper to pull ahead by 17. A Harris layup and free throw, followed by another Sanders basket, gave the Mocs a 20-point lead before a Lynn three and free throw brought the lead down to 16 with 14:15 to go in the contest.
Florida Southern scored 13 of the next 16 points to pull ahead by 24, with Davis, Harris and Sanders all scoring in various ways during the Moccasin run. The Mocs continued to pour it on, and eight consecutive points from Davis, Sanders and Strawbridge, FSC went up by as much as 29 points with just over four minutes remaining before the final buzzer sounded.
While Lynn scored six of the final 10 points of the contest, the result was never in doubt as the Mocs cruised to their first home victory in over two months, and their first home conference win since Florida Tech visited the Jenkins Field House on Feb. 23 last season.
Four Moccasin shooters reached double-digit point totals tonight, with Lamberg leading the way with a season-high 18 points off nine field goals. Sanders was next with 15 points, followed by Harris with 13 and Davis with 12.
Lamberg and Davis each pulled down 11 rebounds, giving Davis her first double-double in a Moccasin uniform and Lamberg her first double-double of the season and fourth all-time as a member of the Mocs. Davis also led the Mocs with five of their 21 assists and recorded three of their six assists.
Florida Southern outshot Lynn for the game, with the Mocs hitting 43.1 percent of their shots compared to Lynn's 28.8 percent. The Mocs also outrebounded the visiting Knights 44-34, dished out 21 assists to Lynn's 10 and committed only 11 turnovers while forcing Lynn to commit 17.
Shatorria Baker led the Fighting Knights with 19 points off a 7-14 shooting night, while Nina Guillaume pulled down 11 of her team's 34 rebounds in the loss.
Florida Southern returns to action with the first of two road trips when they travel to St. Petersburg to face Eckerd on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. The last time these two teams met was on Florida Southern's home court, where the Tritons pulled out a 53-43 victory in early January.
