Box Score AIKEN, S.C. - Florida Southern used a lay-up with 0.8 seconds left in regulation from senior guard Dylan Travis to force overtime and then outscored USC Aiken 17-9 in the extra session to earn an 88-80 victory over the Pacers here Sunday in non-conference action at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the Moccasins extend its win streak to four straight games and improve to 4-2 on the season. USC Aiken fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss.
"What a tremendous play at the end of regulaion by Dylan. He is a tremendous straight line driver and stepped up and made a play," Moccasin head coach Mike Donnelly said following his 199th collegiate coaching victory. Donnelly is 199-154 in his 13th season as a head coach.
Travis' lay-up tied the game at 71 and the Mocs opened the overtime on an 11-1 run to take an 82-72 lead on a trey from senior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.). After USCA cut the Mocs lead to 82-77 with 38 seconds left, junior guard Trey Moore (Omaha, Neb.) hit two free throws with 36 seconds remaining. The Mocs would then hit four straight free throws sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Jevon Patton to complete the game's scoring.
Travis and Williams each scored 26 points in the victory, including combining for 11 of the Mocs 17 points in overtime.
"Dylan (D Trav) and 'Nique really made some plays on both ends of the floor, especially down the stretch when we needed them to step up," the first year Moccasin coach said.
In addition to Williams and Travis, freshman forward Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.) scored a career high 12 points and added nine rebounds. All 12 of Spellman's points came after halftime.
"I thought Jarel really stepped up in the second half, hit some shots and also played well defensively," the Mocs coach added. "He continues to get better and better every day."
It appeared overtime wouldn't be necessary after Williams drilled a trey with 39 seconds left in regulation. After a turnover on the ensuing USCA possession, the Mocs had a chance to increase its lead, but Travis committed a turnover with 24 seconds left. The Pacers would take the lead 12 seconds later on a trey from Hendrix Emu and pushed its lead to 71-69 after another turnover from the Mocs and 1-of-2 free throws from Emu with six seconds left. With no timeouts left, the Mocs put the ball in Travis' hand and he drove into the lane to hit the game-tying shot.
The Pacers, who trailed 43-41 at the half, opened the second half's scoring on an Abry Butler free throw, FSC answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Spellman dunk to take a 49-42 lead just a little over two minutes out of the locker room. The lead, though, was short-lived as the Pacers used a 16-3 run capped by a trey from Emu to take a 58-53 advantage with 9:14 left in regulation.
Williams hit a trey and Spellman added a basket to tie the game at 58, USCA would go on another run to push its lead to 66-61 with 4:32 remaining. The run was keyed by five points from Patton, who was one of five Pacers to finish in double figures with 16 points.
Following a free throw by Patton that gave USCA a 66-61 lead, the Mocs would score seven of the next nine points to take a 69-67 on Williams' trey with 39 seconds left.
Along with Patton, Butler led the way for the Pacers with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Keith Belfield added 17 points. Emu tallied 11 points and Foster scored 10 points in the loss. The Pacers starters scored 75 of USCA's 80 points.
Patton and Belfield came into the game averaging a combined 45.3 points per game as Patton was averaging 23 points per game and Belfield was averaging 22.3 points per contest.
"I thought our defense on Patton and Belfield was really good. They had to work for their points," the Mocs coach said. "Also, I thought Butler was just tremendous tonight. He was all over the place."
In the first half, the Pacers jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the game opening eight minutes, before the Mocs used an 8-0 run capped by a lay-up from Williams to take an 18-17 lead.
The teams would then take turns holding the lead until the Mocs used a 9-4 run to take a 33-28 lead with 5:07 left in the first half. The lead was short-lived as USCA scored five straight points to tie the game at 33. FSC, though, would close the first half on a 10-8 run to take a 43-41 lead at the half.
Florida Southern finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line, while USCA shot 42 percent from the field and 40 percent from long distance.
FSC held a 45-40 edge on the glass, including a career high 11 boards from sophomore forward Tyler Ross (St. John, Ind.).
Both teams took care of the ball as USCA had 14 turnovers and FSC committed 12 in the game.
The Mocs will return to action this coming Wednesday, Dec. 2 as they travel to Saint Leo for a 7:30 p.m. Sunshine State Conference match-up with the Lions.
