Top-Ranked Mocs Host Saint Leo Wednesday, Looking for 11th Straight Victory

Moccasin Game Notes vs. Saint Leo

MOCCASIN QUICK NOTES
* - This is the 88th season of Moccasin basketball.
* - The Moccasins began the 2014-15 campaign by posting an 86-75 home win over Warner in an exhibition contest on Nov. 12.
* - FSC opened the 2014-15 season with a 93-76 win over West Alabama in the SSC/GSC Challenge in Lakeland. It marked the third consecutive season and the 13th time in the last 15 years that FSC had opened the season with a victory. 
* - The Mocs opened the season with an 11-0 record for the second consecutive season and 10th time in school history. Last year, FSC opened the season by winning its first 18 games. 
* - FSC finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 26-5 record. The Mocs took home the regular season SSC title for the second straight year and won its third consecutive SSC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time consecutive season.
* - The Mocs were tabbed to repeat as the SSC Champions in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll and was ranked sixth in the Preseason Division II Bulletin Poll. 
* - The Mocs were ranked ninth in the Preseason NABC/D-II Coaches' Poll and it marked the 13th time since the NABC began a preseason poll in 1996-97 that FSC has been preseason ranked and the second consecutive year they were ranked in the Top 10 as FSC was ranked ninth in 2013-14 preseason poll. 
* - The Mocs are ranked No. 1 in this week's 11th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll. The Mocs have been ranked in the Top 10 for 25 of the past 27 regular season polls.
* - FSC returns two starters and five key players from last season's squad, including senior guard Kevin Capers, who averaged 21.5 points per game last season en route to earning consensus All-America honors.  
* - Over the past seven-plus seasons, FSC is the second winningest NCAA men's basketball program in the state of Florida as they have won 194 games. Only Florida has won more games (202) over that same span than the Mocs. 
* - FSC stands 18th all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,360 wins and is one of 23 D-II programs to record more than 1,300 all-time victories.
* - The Mocs have now won 20 or more games for eight consecutive seasons. FSC is one of just three Division II schools (West Liberty and Findlay) to post 20 win campaigns the past seven seasons.
* - FSC has won an SSC-best 21 regular season titles and 22 SSC Tournament titles and made its 28th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance last season, which is third-most all-time in Division II.
* - The Mocs have advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament the past seven seasons and are one of just two Division II schools to play in the NCAA Tournament the past seven seasons, the other one being Seattle Pacific, who earned its 10th consecutive tournament berth in 2013-14. 
* - Moccasin head coach Linc Darner is in his ninth season in Lakeland and he has won five SSC Coach of the Year honors and is second on the school's all-time win list with 203 all-time victories.

TOP-RANKED MOCS HOST SAINT LEO WEDNESDAY, LOOK TO EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 11 STRAIGHT GAMES
Top-ranked Florida Southern (21-1 overall, 9-1 SSC) is set to play as the No. 1 ranked team in Division II for the first time since Dec. 18, 2000 on Wednesday, Feb. 11 as the Moccasins host Saint Leo (12-11 overall, 4-7 SSC) in a 7:30 p.m. SSC tilt at Jenkins Field House (1,800) on the FSC campus. Wednesday's game will mark the second meeting this season between the two teams as the Mocs earned a 71-66 win in Saint Leo on Jan. 7.

FSC is playing its 15th home game of the season on Wednesday and its second straight after posting an 82-58 win this past Saturday against Nova Southeastern. The Mocs are 13-1 at home on the year and have won four straight games since suffering its only loss of the season on Jan. 3 to then 11th-ranked Barry (107-102) and is 4-1 at home in SSC play. The game will also be the second of a doubleheader at Jenkins Field House as the Moccasin women (10-10, 4-6 SSC) will face the Lion women (7-14 overall, 2-9 SSC) at 5:30 p.m.

FSC, who is ranked No. 1 in this week's 11th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, enters Wednesday's action looking to extend its win streak to 11 straight games since suffering its first and only loss of the season at home on Jan. 3 to Barry. FSC's latest victory on its current 10-game win streak came last Saturday at home to Nova Southeastern (82-58) and followed the Mocs 88-79 win last Wednesday at Miami Shores against then third-ranked Barry. The win at Barry came just four days after the Mocs concluded its regular season non-conference schedule with a 93-67 win at Palm Beach Atlantic. The victory over PBA extended the Mocs regular season non-conference win streak to 31 consecutive games dating to the 2012-13 season and came just two days after the Mocs closed out the first half of SSC play with its 74-70 home win over Rollins.

Along with picking up wins over Nova Southeastern, Barry, Palm Beach Atlantic and Rollins during its current 10-game win streak, FSC has also collected home wins over Eckerd (80-62) and Florida Tech (109-96) and road victories over Saint Leo (71-66), Nova Southeastern (77-74), Tampa (81-75) and Lynn (87-77). The loss to Barry in its SSC opener on Jan. 3 was FSC's first loss of the season after opening the 2014-15 campaign by winning its first 11 games. The loss to Barry to open league play was its first since falling 84-78 at Rollins to open the 2011-12 SSC slate.

With its nine straight wins in SSC play, the Mocs have now won 10 of its last 13 conference games dating to last season, including winning seven of its last eight SSC road games with the only loss being a 71-69 setback in its final regular season road game last season at Tampa.

FSC comes into Wednesday's action sporting a 21-1 overall record and are tied with Barry for first in the SSC with a 9-1 record. With its win over Barry last Wednesday, the Mocs achieved its eighth consecutive 20 win season and has posted a 73-12 overall record and a 32-9 record in SSC since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. 

10 GAME WIN STREAK IS TIED FOR FOURTH LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK IN D-II         
FSC comes into Wednesday's home contest with Saint Leo having won 10 consecutive games, which is tied for the fourth longest active winning streak in Division II men's basketball. Augustana (23-1) and Angelo State (21-1) currently holds the longest active win streak in Division II as they have won 16 straight games, while Mount Olive (22-2) is third on the list as they have won 11 straight games. FSC (21-1) and Western Oregon (20-2) is tied for fourth as they have won 10 straight games.  

MOCS RANKED NO. 1 IN LATEST NABC/DIVISION II COACHES' POLL
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Moccasins ascended to the top spot in this week's NABC/Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll.  The No. 1 ranking is the first-ever for the Mocs since the Dec. 18, 2000. FSC has now been ranked No. 1  for 18 weeks all-time, which is tied for the seventh most weeks at No. 1 in Division II history. In fact, only two other SSC programs have been ranked No. 1 all-time - Tampa and Rollins.  

CAPERS BECOMES NO. 2 SCORER IN SCHOOL HISTORY, ECLIPSES 2,000 POINT BARRIER
Moccasin senior guard Kevin Capers is continuing his climb up the school's all-time scoring chart as he enters Wednesday's game with Saint Leo having scored 2,016 points, which is second on the all-time chart as he passed both Kris Kearney (1986-89) and Rion Rayfield (2007-11) on the school's career scoring chart after scoring 19 points in the Mocs 109-96 home win over Florida Tech on Jan. 17 and eclipsed the 2,000 point barrier following his 27 point effort this past Saturday against Nova Southeastern.

Through 22 games this season, Capers, who is the second leading active scorer in Division II, has scored 482 points and is averaging 21.9 points per game, which leads the SSC and is 14th nationally in the latest Division II statistics. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games this season and had a streak of 13 consecutive games of scoring 10 or more points, including tallying a career-high and an FSC NCAA Tournament record 46 points in FSC's South Regional Tournament game last season against Tuskegee, snapped after scoring a season-low six points against Miles in FSC's final game of the 2014 calendar year. In addition, he has scored 20 or more points in 16 of his last 24 outings, including 14 times this season. 

FSC-SAINT LEO SERIES 
Wednesday's game with Saint Leo will mark the 105th all-time meeting in the series and the second of two meetings this season as FSC picked up a 71-66 win in Saint Leo on Jan. 7. The Mocs hold an 87-17 edge all-time in the series, but has won just four of the nine meetings in the series, but has lost its last two regular season meetings against the Lions in Lakeland. FSC holds a 43-6 edge in Lakeland and also holds a 38-9 advantage in Saint Leo. FSC also leads 6-2 on neutral courts, while Darner is 13-7 all-time against Saint Leo. 

SCOUTING SAINT LEO 
Saint Leo (12-11 overall, 4-7 SSC) comes into Wednesday's m atch-up with FSC having dropped four of its last five games overall with the lone win being a 69-58 victory at home last Saturday against Rollins. The win over Rollins snapped a season-high four-game losing streak for the Lions. Since suffering its 71-66 home loss to the Mocs in early January, the Lions have posted a 3-6 with two of those wins coming against Rollins and the other coming against Eckerd, 69-64. SLU is currently sitting in a tie with Eckerd for sixth in the SSC standings.

SLU has struggled away from home this season as the Lions have posted a 3-7 record on the road, including a 1-4 mark on the road in SSC play. SLU has lost three straight road games since picking up a 57-54 win in overtime at Rollins on Jan. 10. At home, SLU has posted a 9-4 record on the season.

SLU is one of the defensive teams in the SSC as they come into Wednesday's action leading the SSC in scoring defense (61.9 points per game), are third in field goal percentage defense (42.4 percent) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (34.8 percent). In addition, they lead the league and Division II in free throw shooting as they are shooting 80.4 percent at the line and are third in rebound margin (+3.8).

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Lions are the second winningest team in the SSC as they have compiled a 76-39 record and have posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons.

SLU, who was tabbed to finish sixth in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll, returns two starters and five lettermen from last season's 24-9 squad that advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA South Regional Tournament for the second consecutive season. 

The Lions are coached by Lance Randall (Beloit, '94). Randall, who is in his fourth season at SLU, has turned the Lions into a championship contender as he has compiled a 76-39 mark with the Lions and has a 119-75 career record in seven seasons as a collegiate head coach. He has led SLU to three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament as the 2011-12 squad fell to Florida Tech in the first round, then lost in the semifinals in 2012-13 to FSC and Delta State in last year's semifinals. 

Randall's fourth SLU team features two players averaging in double figures led by senior forward Ron Foxx. Fox is averaging 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 85 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 23 games and has posted three double-doubles and enters Wednesday's action having scored in double figures in seven of its his last eight games.  

In addition to Foxx, senior guard Devin Crisosto is averaging 10.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field and 77 percent at the free throw line. Crisosto has scored in double figures in 10 games and has had five or more assists in five games, including a season high 10 assists against Evangel and leads the team in steals with 28, while sophomore guard Marcus Dewberry is averaging 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 86 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in eight games, including three 20-plus point games and has a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio.

Other key performers for the Lions are senior forward Cale Girten, junior forward Edmunds Dukulis and junior guard Trey Griseck. Girten is averaging 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 46 percent from the 3-point line and has scored in double figures in 10 games, including three times in his last four games, while Dukulis, who is a transfer from Boise State, is averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field and 82 percent at the free throw line and has reached double figures in nine games and Griseck is averaging 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 84 percent at the free throw line.  

As a team, the Lions success this season can be attributed to one of the top defenses in the league as they lead the SSC in scoring defense as they are allowing 61.9 points per game and have held seven of its last nine foes under 70 points. On the season, SLU has allowed just four teams to score over 70 points. On offense, SLU is averaging 64.6 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line. The Lions have been held under 70 points in its last 11 games and have only scored over 70 points in six games on the year