Box Score TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Florida Southern stepped out of Sunshine State Conferece play here Monday evening as the reigning Division II National Champion Moccasins suffered a 99-82 setback to Stillman in a South Region non-conference contest at Birthright Alumni Hall on the Stillman campus.
With the setback, the Moccasins dropped its third straight game and its record fell to 4-5 on the year, while Stillman improved to 7-4 overall, including improving to 6-0 at home this season.
Stillman's win was due in large part to its shooting from the field as they finished the game connecting on 55 percent of its shots, including shooting 66 percent from the field in the second half. Stillman outscored the Mocs, 57-48 after halftime.
"We need to improve in all facets of the game, not one or two areas, but all facets," Moccasin head coach Mike Donnelly said. "We have no other choice, but to get better. We have a long ways to go."
It was the third consecutive game that the Mocs allowed an opponent to shoot over 50 percent from the field as Saint Leo shot 51 percent from the floor in its 91-89 win last Wednesday, while Florida Tech shot 55 percent from the field in its 99-93 win on Saturday in Lakeland.
Along with shooting 55 percent from the field, the Tigers also shot 35 free throws in game as the Mocs were whistled for 26 fouls. Stillman finished the night shooting 71 percent (25-for-35) from the line. The Mocs shot just 12 free throws on the night.
Senior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.) led the way offensively for the Mocs as he scored 19 points and added five boards and five assists. In addition to Travis, senior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) added 17 points, while junior guard Sheldon Zablotny (Erie, Pa.) had 16 points, including scoring 10 of them in the second half.
The final double-digit scorer for the Mocs was junior guard Trey Moore (Omaha, Neb.) as he added 13 points, including scoring 11 points and hitting three treys after halftime.
Leading 42-34 at the half, Stillman opened the second half on a 16-9 run to push its lead to 58-43 with 15:13 left in the game. The run was aided by six points from Ronald Singleton and five points from Kairo Cannon.
The Mocs, though, wouldn't go away as they responded to Stillman's run with a 17-8 run capped by a bucket from freshman forward Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.) to pull within 66-60. Zablotny scored six of his 10 second half points during the run.
"We had some chances tonight. We cut it to six several times in the second half, but were never able to get any closer than that," said Donnelly, who is still stuck on 199 career coaching victories. Donnelly is 199-157 in his 13th season as a collegiate coach.
Stillman would score six straight points to push its lead back to 12 at 72-60, but Moore would hit two consecutive treys to drop the Tigers lead to 72-66 with 8:59 remaining.
The Tigers answered Moore's treys by going on an 8-0 run to push its lead to 80-66 with 5:50 left in the contest. A trey from Travis and a lay-up by Zablotny would pull FSC within 80-71 with 4:58 remaining, before Stillman would put the game out of reach with a 19-8 run to give the Tigers a 99-79 lead. Sophomore forward R.J. June (Sanford, Fla.) would cap the scoring with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left.
Stillman was paced by 21 points from Singleton, while Devin McNeil added 16 points off the bench and Rodnerius Lewis had 15 points in the win.
The Mocs were outrebounded, 43-31 and were outscored, 52-23 in the paint, including a 24-6 edge in the paint in the first half.
FSC, who has now lost three consecutive games in a season for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign, shot 44 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line, including shooting 53 percent from the floor and 62 percent from downtown in the second half. The Mocs finished the game by making a season high 14 3-pointers.
The Mocs also committed 23 turnovers that led to 30 Tiger points. Stillman had 18 turnovers that led to 13 Moccasin points on the night.
FSC jumped out to a 10-3 lead just a little less than four minutes into game, before Stillman used a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 17-12 lead with 9:32 left in the half. Back-to-back treys from Zablotny brought the Mocs within a point at 19-18 with 8:59 left in the opening half.
Stillman, though, would respond with an 11-6 run to push its lead to 33-24 with 6:02 remaining. The Mocs would use a 10-6 run capped by a Travis lay-up with 1:26 left to drop the Tigers lead to 39-34. The Tigers would score the final three points of the half to take its 42-34 lead at the half.
The Mocs jumped out to a 10-3 lead just a little less than four minutes into game, before Stillman used a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 17-12 lead with 9:32 left in the half. Back-to-back treys from Zablotny brought the Mocs within a point at 19-18 with 8:59 left in the opening half.
Stillman, though, would respond with an 11-6 run to push its lead to 33-24 with 6:02 remaining. The Mocs would use a 10-6 run capped by a Travis lay-up with 1:26 left to drop the Tigers lead to 39-34.
The Mocs will conclude its two-game road swing with a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 12 in West Palm Beach against Palm Beach Atlantic. The Sailfish are 4-5 on the season, including collecting a 100-99 win this past Saturday at home against Barry.
