Mocs Host Mount Olive and Miles to Wrap Up Pre-Christmas Schedule

LAKELAND - Florida Southern will conclude its pre-Christmas schedule with back-to-back games this weekend against Mount Olive and Miles College at Jenkins Field House.

The reigning National Champion Moccasins will open the back-to-back stretch of games on Saturday, Dec. 19 with a 6 p.m. non-conference tilt against Mount Olive, before concluding the two game stretch on Sunday, Dec. 20 with a 6 p.m. South Region match-up against Miles College. 

FSC opened its current four game home stretch with a 100-90 victory on Thursday over Eastern New Mexico. The win over Eastern New Mexico snapped the Mocs four-game losing skid and extended its home court win streak in regular season non-conference games to 24 straight as the Mocs haven't lost a home regular season game to a non-conference foe since falling 91-89 on a half-court buzzer to St. Cloud State at the Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic on Nov. 23, 2012. 

The Mocs, who are 3-1 at home this season with its only loss being a 99-93 setback to Florida Tech on Dec. 5, comes into this weekend's final two games of the 2015 calendar year sporting a 5-6 overall record following its win just a little more than 24 hours ago against Eastern New Mexico.

"It felt really good to get a win against Eastern New Mexico. It was a win we needed in the worst way," said Moccasin first year coach Mike Donnelly, who earned his 200th career coaching victory with Thursday night's victory. "Hopefully, we can carry over the momentum from Thursday's win this weekend."

As the team, the Mocs come into this weekend's action averaging 86.8 points per game and have scored 80 or more points in eight straight games, including scoring 90-plus points in three of its last four games. The Mocs are coming off a season high 100 point effort in its most recent action. Along with averaging 86.8 points per game, the Mocs are also shooting 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line and are averaging 10.1 made treys per game, including hitting a total of 41 treys over its last three games. FSC is also one of the top free throw shooting teams in the Sunshine State Conference as they are shooting 73.5 percent from the line, including going 39-for-44 (88.6 percent) from the charity stripe over its last two games.

Leading the way for the Moccasins on offense through 11 games this season is senior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.). Travis leads the SSC and is 12th nationally in scoring at 24.9 points per game and is also averaging 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 85 percent at the free throw line and has hit 39 of his last 41 free throws. He has scored 20 or more points in nine of 10 games and has scored in double figures in 12 straight games and 16 times in his last 18 outings dating to last season. Additionally, he has recorded four double-doubles on the year, including two straight double-doubles after tallying 29 points and pulling down a career high 13 rebounds last time out against Eastern New Mexico.

In addition to Travis, the Mocs No. 2 scorer this season is senior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.). Williams, who is 87 points shy of becoming the 40th Moccasin to join the 1,000 Point Club, is averaging 18.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line and has reached double figures in nine straight games and has scored 20 or more points in four of his last six outings, including two straight games of scoring 20 points.

Along with Travis and Williams, two other Mocs are averaging in double figures on the season as junior guard Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) is averaging 14.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and is shooting 35 percent from the field, 29 percent from downtown and 90 percent at the free throw line and has had two consecutive double-digit scoring efforts, while junior guard Sheldon Zablotny (Erie, Pa.) is averaging 12.3 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the floor, 31 percent from the 3-point line and 89 percent at the free throw line and has scored in double figures in eight of 11 games, including seven times in his last eight games and is coming off a career high 17 point effort against Eastern New Mexico.  

Mount Olive, who advanced to the Division II Elite Eight last season after winning school record 31 games and posting a 31-4 overall record, comes into Saturday's match-up having won four straight games to raise its record to 6-4 on the season. The current four game winning streak came on the heels of the Trojans opening the season by losing four of its first six games. UMO, though, hasn't played since earning an 87-80 road win last Saturday at UNC Pembroke. The Trojans other wins during its current win streak came at Augusta (87-83), at home against Southern Wesleyan (98-56) and at Belmont Abbey (78-71). 

The Trojans, who were tabbed to repeat as the Conference Carolinas champion in the league's preseason poll, has advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven times since 2004 and has claimed two straight regular season Conference Carolinas titles and advanced to the Elite Eight in both 2005 and 2015. 

UMO welcomes back four double-digit scorers from last season's 31-4 squad that won its final 15 regular season games, including Preseason All-American and last year's Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Dontrell Brite, who averaged 13.8 points per game a season ago. 

Brite is one of four Trojans averaging in double figures on the season as he comes into Saturday's action averaging 19.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and 77 percent from the free throw line. Brite has scored in double figures in nine games, including five games of scoring 20 or more points and has scored 20 or more points in two consecutive games. 

In addition to Brite, senior forward Dominique Reed is averaging 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and has blocked a team best 21 shots (2.1 bpg) and is shooting 70 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in eight of 10 games, while senior forward Mike Moore is averaging 12.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 54 percent from the field and 42 percent from long distance and senior guard Jaquan Blount is averaging 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the floor and 38 percent from the 3-point line. 

Brite, Blount, Moore and Reed all were starters from last season's Southeast Regional Championship team that fell 77-59 to Tarleton State in the national quarterfinals at last season's Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. 

As a team, Mount Olive, who is coached by Joey Higginbotham, who is in his eighth season at his alma mater, is averaging 78.9 points per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 63 percent at the free throw line. On defense, UMO is allowing 72.6 points per game and is limiting their foes to 42 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from long distance and has a +3.7 turnover margin as the Trojans are forcing 16.1 turnovers per game and are averaging 4.5 blocked shots per contest.

Saturday's meeting with Mount Olive will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the second consecutive season that the Mocs are facing a team from Conference Carolinas as they posted a 98-82 win in Lakeland on Dec. 18, 2014. In addition, it will mark the 20th game ever for FSC against a Conference Carolinas schools as the Mocs are 10-9 all-time against CC members. 

On Sunday, the Mocs will face a Miles College squad that has dropped three of its last four games with its only win being a 73-58 road win on Dec. 14 at Spring Hill. The Golden Bears enter the game sporting a 5-5 overall record and haven't played since suffering a 70-46 loss on Wednesday at 21st-ranked Eckerd. FSC is the third SSC team Miles has faced this season as along with falling at Eckerd, they also suffered a 95-93 home loss on Nov. 23 against Lynn. Miles' other wins this season came against Lee (Tenn.) (106-101), at North Alabama (90-84), at home against both Morehouse (74-56) and Clark Atlanta (88-56). 

Miles, who has posted just three seasons of double-digit wins over the past 10 years, have seen 21 different players see action this season, including seven players having played at least nine games on the year.

Leading the way offensively among the team's regular players is junior guard Maiscei Grier, who is averaging 12.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from the 3-point. On the season, Greer,  who is a transfer from St. Joseph's (Ind.), where former Moccasin assistant coach Tom Church is the head coach, has scored in double figures in six games. In addition to Greer, junior guard Reginald Smalls is averaging 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and is shooting 45 percent from the 3-point line, while senior forward Hasain Bunnell is averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 69 percent from the field. 

The Golden Bears are coached by former Tuskegee head coach Leon Douglas. Douglas, who spent eight seasons with the Golden Tigers and compiled a 119-113 record at Tuskegee, is in his second season at Miles and posted a 3-24 record in his first season in 2014-15. Douglas is a former seven-year NBA player and was a two-time All-American at the University of Alabama. Along with being a two-time All-America with the Crimson Tide, Douglas was also a four-time All-SEC selection and was the No. 4 pick of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He played in 456 games for both the Pistons and Kansas City Kings and closed his NBA career with 3,587 points and 2,954 rebounds.

As a team, Miles is averaging 82.3 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 62 percent at the free throw line. They are outrebounding their foes by a +6.3 margin and have a +0.6 turnover margin and are averaging 7.2 steals per game. On defense, Miles is allowing 80.7 points per game and its opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line.

Sunday's meeting with Miles will be the second consecutive meeting between the two teams as the Mocs closed its pre-Christmas schedule last season with a 93-57 win over the Golden Bears. In addition, it will be the second game this season this season for the Mocs against a team from the SIAC as FSC suffered a 99-82 loss at Stillman on Dec. 7.  

Following this weekend's action, the Mocs will take 12 days off before returning to the court on Saturday, Jan. 2 as they host its longtime rival Tampa in a 7:30 p.m. SSC game at Jenkins Field House. Seven of those 12 days off (Dec. 21-27) are mandated by the NCAA as part of its Division II "Life in Balance" initiative that was implemented a few seasons ago.