Mocs Host Florida Tech Saturday to Conclude Two-Game Homestand

Moccasin Game Notes vs. Florida Tech

LAKELAND - Florida Southern will look to extend its win streak to four consecutive games here Saturday evening as the sixth-ranked Moccasins conclude a brief two-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference game at Jenkins Field House against Florida Tech. 

The Mocs, who are sporting a 14-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the SSC, have reeled off three straight victories since suffering a 107-102 home loss nearly two weeks ago to then 11th-ranked Barry. The loss to Barry snapped FSC's 11-game win streak to open the 2014-15 campaign. In addition to sporting a 14-1 overall record, the Mocs have also posted a 10-1 record at home this season and have won 40 of its last 46 games on its homecourt dating to the beginning of the 2012-13 season.

FSC's latest victory during its current three-game win streak came less than 48 hours ago as the Mocs opened the homestand on Wednesday with an 80-62 victory over Eckerd. The win over Eckerd came after the Mocs posted back-to-back road wins last week over Saint Leo (71-66) and Nova Southeastern (77-74).  

Meanwhile, Florida Tech comes into action on Saturday having dropped two straight and four of its last five games since opening the season by winning nine of its first 10 games. The Panthers, who are 10-5 overall, haven't yet won an SSC game this season as they enter play Saturday with an 0-4 record in league games and dating to last season, they have dropped six straight SSC games since earning a 61-58 road win over Eckerd on Feb. 22, 2014. Tech's latest loss in this stretch was a 75-68 setback on Wednesday at seventh-ranked Barry. 

Saturday's game will mark the 95th all-time meeting in the series between the two schools and the first of two season as the Mocs will play the Panthers in Melbourne on Feb. 14. FSC holds a 70-24 edge in the series and has won seven of the 11 games in the series with one of those four losses coming in Lakeland during the 2012-13 season. FSC is 35-10 at home against Tech and has won eight of the last nine games in the series on its homecourt, while also holding a 26-13 edge in Melbourne. Mocs ninth-year head coach Linc Darner is 12-7 against the Panthers, including being 9-1 against Tech in Lakeland.

Saturday's game will feature two teams that like to score points as the Mocs and Tech are No. 1 and No. 4 in the league in scoring as FSC leads the SSC and is fourth nationally in scoring as they average 93.5 points per game and have scored 80 or more points in 13 of 15 games, while Tech is averaging 78.3 points per game and has scored over 80 points in six games, but has been held to less than 70 points in four of its last five outings. 

Defensively, both teams sit near the top of the SSC statistics in 3-point field goal percentage defense as the Mocs are fourth in the SSC as their foes are shooting 34.3 percent from downtown and Tech is second in the league in that category as their foes are shooting 32.6 percent from long distance. One area where Tech is strong at is shot blocking as the Panthers are second in the SSC and 11th nationally in blocked shots as they are averaging 5.2 per game on the season.

The Panthers, who have posted a 65-36 record since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, have four players that rank in the Top 15 in the SSC in scoring. Leading the way for Tech is senior guard Jermaine Jackson, who is 10th in the league in scoring as he is averaging 14.4 points per game and is also averaging 3.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the floor and has scored in double figures in 10 games, including four games of scoring 20 or more points. In addition to Jackson, senior guard Chris Carter is 11th in the league in scoring as he is averaging 14.0 points per game and is also averaging 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Carter, who has had 10 double-digit scoring efforts on the season, is shooting 44 percent from the floor, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent at the foul line.

Tech's other two double-digit scorers are redshirt junior forward Corbin Jackson and redshirt freshman guard Jordan Majors. Corbin Jackson is 12th in the league in scoring (13.3 ppg), second in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and leads the SSC in blocked shots (3.7 bpg) and is shooting 59 percent from the floor and has blocked 55 shots on the season. He has tallied double figures in 10 games and has posted six double-doubles on the year, including scoring 12 points and pulling down 15 boards in Tech's loss on Wednesday at Barry. Majors is 14th in the SSC in scoring as he is averaging 12.0 points per game and is also averaging 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and is shooting 49 percent from floor, 36 percent from long distance and 80 percent at the free throw line. 

The Panthers are coached by Billy Mims, who is 148-126 in his 10th season at Tech and is 236-235 in his 17th year as a collegiate head coach. Mims is the all-time winninngest coach in Florida Tech history and is no stranger to the league as he spent six seasons (1988-94) at Barry. 

Unlike Tech, which has four players averaging in double figures, the Mocs come into action with six players averaging over eight points per game, including four Mocs averaging in double figures. Leading the way for the Mocs is senior All-American guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.), who is averaging an SSC-best 22.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in 13 of 15 games this season, including tallying 20 or more points in 11 of 15 games. Along with averaging 21.0 points per game, Capers is averaging 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 31 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent at the free throw line. Capers comes into Saturday's game needing seven points to become the second all-time leading scorer in school history as he is five points shy of Kris Kearney (1,869) and six points shy of Rion Rayfield (1,870) are third and second respectively on the career scoring chart.

In addition to Capers, the other Mocs averaging in double figures are senior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.), junior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.), senior guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio) and Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.).

Battle is averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field and has a streak of five consecutive double figure scoring games, while Travis is averaging 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 83 percent at the free throw line and has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games and 10 times overall on the season. Kelly is averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and leads the team in made 3-pointers (32) and assists (62) and Volovic is averaging 10.4 points per game off the bench and is shooting 44 percent from both the field and the 3-point line and has tallied double figures in six games. 

Following Saturday's game, the Mocs will hit the road for two straight games beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 21 with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Tampa (9-5 overall, 3-2 SSC). The Spartans host Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday, before hosting the Mocs on Wednesday.