Box Score MELBOURNE - Top-ranked Florida Southern got all it could and more here Saturday afternoon from Florida Tech as the Moccasins rallied late to force overtime and then closed the extra session on an 8-0 run to post an 82-79 victory over the Panthers in Sunshine State Conference action at the Clemente Center.
Saturday's game was the second for the Moccasins as the No. 1 ranked team in Division II and its first road game as the top-ranked team in the country.
"Wow, I'm not sure how we won this game today. We didn't play well at times, but we had players step up down the stretch and make some plays and helped us find a way to win the game," Moccasin head coach Linc Darner said following his team's fourth straight victory against the Panthers. "Our players battled back and made some plays, especially in overtime."
The Mocs, who extended its win strak to 12 consecutive games with Saturday's victory, improved to 22-1 overall and 11-1 in the SSC.
FSC trailed 68-60 with 4:20 left in regulation on Saturday, but closed the second half on a 12-4 run, including tying the game on two free throws by senior All-American guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) with 55 seconds left in the game. The Mocs closing run was aided by five points apiece from Capers and senior forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.).
In fact, Battle scored 21 of his career high 30 points in the second half and overtime.
"Stephen really stepped up today and made some big plays and some bigs shots when we needed them," said Darner, whose team has now won two straight games in Melbourne after losing four straight games from 2009-2012 on Tech's court, including three of those losses coming in overtime.
In the extra session, Tech scored the first four points to take a 76-72 lead following a basket by Jordan Majors with 4:01 left in the extra period. The Mocs would use two free throws by Capers and a lay-up by Battle with 3:01 left to tie the score at 76.
After Jermaine Jackson missed a shot on Tech's ensuing possession, the Mocs retook the lead for good following two free throws from junior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.). Williams' free throws gave the Mocs a 78-76 lead with 2:11 left in the extra period.
Williams helped extend the Mocs lead to 80-76 following a lay-up with 39 seconds left. The Panthers, though, would answer right back on a trey from Majors to pull Tech within a point at 80-79 with 19 seconds remaining. Majors finished the game with a 24 points to lead the Panthers.
FSC, though, would seal the victory on two free throws by Capers with 12 seconds left. Capers, who was held to four points in the first half, finished the game with 17 points and added five rebounds, six assists and two steals.
"We were able to get some stops in overtime and make some free throws down the stretch," the Mocs coach added.
In addition to Majors' 24 points, Jackson tallied 19 points and had seven boards for Tech, while Corbin Jackson added 13 points and 12 boards and Chris Carter finished with 11 points in the loss.
Battle and Capers were two of three Mocs that scored in double figures in the win as Williams was the third double-digit scorer as had 10 points off the bench.
The Mocs finished the night shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent (9-for-27) from the 3-point line, while Tech shot 49 percent from the field and 31 percent (8-for-26) from the 3-point line.
It appeared early in the game that overtime wouldn't be needed on Saturday as the Panthers (13-11 overall, 3-9 SSC) jumped out to a 26-11 lead just 10 minutes into the game.
"I thought our guys panicked in the first 8-10 minutes of the game, but then responded and began to play better," Darner added. "We didn't get off to a good start today and luckily that didn't come back to hurt us."
The 15 point deficit was tied for the largest deficit of the season for the Mocs. FSC also trailed by 15 points late in the first half of its 74-70 home win against Rollins on Jan. 28.
Following Tech's early flurry, the Mocs mounted a comeback as they responded with a 23-12 run capped by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) to take a 34-32 lead with 2:47 left in the opening half. The run was aided by four consecutive treys from junior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.), Capers, senior forward Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) and Volovic.
After Volovic's trey, the Panthers scored four straight points to take a 36-34 lead, before the Mocs closed the half on a 5-2 run to go into halftime holding a 39-38 advantage.
The Mocs will return to action this coming Wednesday, Jan. 18 as they travel to St. Petersburg for a 7:30 p.m. game against Eckerd (11-12 overall, 4-9 SSC). The Mocs picked up an 80-62 win over the Tritons in Lakeland on Jan. 14.
