Box Score LAKELAND - Florida Southern used a strong first half en route to posting an 80-62 victory over Eckerd in Sunshine State Conference action at Jenkins Field House.
The sixth-ranked Moccasins used a 19-2 run over a span of six minutes in the opening half to turn a 7-6 lead into a 26-8 advantage just a little over 10 minutes into the game. The run was keyed by six points from junior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.) and capped by a three-pointer from senior All-American guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.).
After back-to-back baskets by the Tritons cut the Mocs lead to 26-12, the Mocs would close out the first half on a 10-7 run to take a 38-19 lead at the half. The 19 points by Eckerd were the fewest allowed by the Mocs in a half this season.
"I thought we guarded extremely well in the first half tonight," Moccasin head coach Linc Darner said following his team's fifth consecutive victory over the Tritons. "That's been kind of our thing this season. In the first half we guard really well, but in the second half, we seem to take the foot off the pedal and not guard as hard. We've talked about getting off to better starts defensively."
With the win, the Mocs extended its win streak to three straight games and improved its record to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in the SSC, while Eckerd dropped its third consecutive game and fell to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in the league.
Another key Darner said to the fast start on Wednesday was his team's ability to wear down the Tritons.
"I thought we wore them (Eckerd) down a little bit. I thought going into halftime they looked a little bit tired," said Darner, who is now 13-7 against Eckerd as the Mocs coach.
In the opening half, the Mocs shot 39 percent from the field and forced the Tritons into nine turnovers that led to 11 points. Additionally, the Mocs defense held Eckerd to just 27 percent shooting from the field and an 0-for-6 effort from the 3-point line.
"I thought our pressure made them make passes and do things they weren't used to doing, which is big for us," the Mocs coach added. "I think they had some turnovers at times they shouldn't have had where they just threw it and guys weren't looking. I think that had to do with our pressure."
The Mocs strong offensive game in the first half was keyed by a combined 20 points from Capers and Battle as Capers scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Battle scored eight of his 13 points before halftime.
With his 22 points, Capers is now within five points of tying former two-time All-American Kris Kearney for third on the school's career scoring chart as Capers has now tallied 1,864 career points as a Moccasin. Kearney closed his FSC career that spanned from 1986-89 with 1,869 career points.
The third Moccasin to finish in double figures on the night was Travis as he scored 11 points in the win. Sophomore guard Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) added nine points off the bench, while junior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) and senior forward Bubby Johnson (Waldorf, Md.) each had eight points on the night.
Unlike the first half, the second half was dominated by whistles as the two teams combined for 28 fouls and shot a combined 30 free throws in the final 20 minutes. In the first half, both teams committed eight fouls and shot a combined 13 free throws.
On the night, the Mocs finished 16-for-18 (88.9 percent) at the line, including going 10-for-12 in the second half, while Eckerd, who entered the game ninth in the SSC in free throw shooting at 65.4 percent, shot 64 percent (16-for-25), including going just 11-for-18 at the line after halftime.
"I think it was hard to guard in the second half because every time they (Eckerd) drove to the basket it was a foul," said Darner, who team is now 40-6 at home since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
The Mocs opened the second by scoring 15 of the first 21 points to push its lead out to as much as 28 points at 53-25 following a free throw by Capers to cap a four-point play with 17:15 left in the game.
From the point, Eckerd chipped away at that lead as they five straight points to drop FSC's lead to 53-31, before the Mocs answered with a 6-1 run to push its lead out to 27 points at 59-32 following two free throws by senior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) with 10:22 remaining.
The Tritons would respond with a 24-16 run over the next eight-plus minutes to pull within 75-56 following a lay-up by Brian Cobb with 1:55 left in the game.
A trey from Travis four seconds later gave the Mocs a 78-56 lead, before Eckerd closed out the game by scoring six of the final eight points to give the Mocs its 18 point victory.
Eckerd was paced offensively on the night by Ray Darnell as he finished with 11 points, while Keshawn Ingram added nine points off the bench and E.J. Moody tallied eight in the loss.
The Mocs held Tritons scoring leader Jerrick Stevenson to six points for the game as he was 1-for-8 from the field, including missing all three of his 3-point shot attempts and finished 4-for-4 at the line. He came into Wednesday's game averaging nearly 15 points per game on the season.
For the game, the Mocs forced Eckerd into 19 turnovers that led to 24 points, while they committed 14 turnovers, including just four turnovers in the first half.
On the night, the Mocs were outrebounded by the Tritons, 40-30, but held a 25-18 edge on the glass in the first half. Williams and senior forward Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) led the way on the boards for the Mocs as they each had five on the night.
"I thought we rebounded exceptionally well in the first half," said Darner.
The Mocs will look to make it four straight wins this coming Saturday, Jan. 17 as they conclude its two-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. SSC tilt against Florida Tech (10-5, 0-4 SSC). The Panthers fell 75-68 at seventh-ranked Barry on Wednesday night and come into Lakeland having lost two straight games and five of its last six overall.
"Florida Tech might be one of the most, if not, most talented team in the league. They have three of the league's top players, so we had better be ready to get after it on Saturday," Darner said. "There are no off nights in this league. Every game is a dog fight and we have another one in less than 72 hours."
