Box Score AIKEN, S.C. - Florida Southern jumped out a 16 point lead here after three quarters and withstood a furious fourth quarter rally from USC Aiken to post a 63-59 victory over the Pacers at the Convocation Center to remain undefeated on the season.
With the victory, the Moccasins improved to 7-0 on the season, while USCA fell to 4-2. The 7-0 start by the Mocs is the second best in school history as only a 16-0 start by the 1992-93 squad coached by FSC Hall of Famer Norm Benn was better.
"We tried to lose the game. The fourth quarter just killed us, we scored six points and we can't do that," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said. "I thought we were content today and we can't be content. I was glad, though, that we were able to pull it out at the end."
The Mocs entered the fourth quarter holding a 59-41 lead thanks to outscoring the home team 16-11 in the third quarter, but the Pacers would hold the Mocs to just one field goal in the final quarter and just four free throws as they rallied to cut the final margin to four points.
In the final quarter, after a lay-up from sophomore guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.) gave the Mocs a 59-43 lead, the Pacers would score 13 consecutive points and cap the run with a three-pointer from Mariah Durian with 2:04 left in the game to pull within 59-56.
Junior guard Bailey Florin (Orlando, Fla.) would hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Mocs a 60-56 lead. On the Pacers ensuing possession, Stephanie Ball hit a 3-pointer to drop FSC's lead to one at 60-59. Freshman Camille Giardina (Sarasota, Fla.) would give the Mocs a 61-59 lead after converting on 1-of-2 free throws with 17 seconds remaining.
After Giardina's free throw, USCA would turn the ball over on the next possession and senior guard Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) stepped to the line and hit two free throws with eight seconds left to seal the Mocs victory.
"I wanted to give our bench some experience in the fourth quarter, but they weren't as strong as normal and didn't bring enough energy," said Harris, who is now 20-14 in her second season as the Mocs coach.
Payne led the way offensively for the Mocs as she scored a game high 16 points. In addition to Payne, senior forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) added 11 points and six boards and Blassage finished with 10 points and added five assists to help lead the Mocs to its fourth consecutive road win.
"I am really proud of this team to be able to start the season 7-0 and also go on the road and win four straight games," added Harris.
Sunday's game the Florida Southern's fourth of five straight game on the road as they opened the road swing last Saturday with a 77-61 win at Lynn, before earning a 60-55 win this past Tuesday at Palm Beach Atlantic and then collecting a 79-71 win on Saturday at Claflin.
Leading 41-30 at the half, the Mocs looked to put the game out of reach as they used 14-4 run to turn a 10 point lead into a 57-37 advantage with 1:46 left in the third quarter. The run began with a bucket from Blassage and was capped by a lay-up from junior forward Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.).
Emry Tsitouris led the way for the Pacers with 11 points, while Durian added 10 off the bench. USCA held a 25-17 edge in bench points on the day.
The Mocs ended the game shooting 50 percent from the field, but was just 2-for-8 (25 percent) from the 3-point line. In the first half, the Mocs shot 61 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the 3-point to sprint out to its 41-30 lead at the half.
USCA shot 38 percent from the field and 38 percent from downtown in the loss. The Pacers also held a 32-31 edge on the boards.
The Mocs committed 19 turnovers, including 12 in the second half, while the Pacers had 18 turnovers, including 11 after halftime. The Mocs did hold a 25-18 edge in points off turnovers.
Both teams were strong from the free throw line as the Mocs finished 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) at the line, while USCA was was 11-for-13 (84.6 percent).
In the first quarter, the Mocs shot 69 percent from the field and held a 20-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play.
FSC would push its lead to as much as 13 points on a free throw by Harris with 8:01 left in the second quarter. Harris' free throw gave the Mocs a 26-13 lead. USCA, though, would respond with a 12-4 run to pull within 30-25 with 4:19 remaining in the quarter. From that point, the Mocs would close out the half on an 11-5 run to go into halftime with a 41-30 lead. Payne scored six of FSC's final 11 points and had 10 of her 16 points in the quarter.
The Mocs will return to SSC play on Wednesday, Dec. 2 as they travel to Saint Leo for a 5:30 p.m. match-up with the Lions.
