Box Score MELBOURNE - Florida Southern held a 59-58 lead with 6:24 left in the game here Saturday afternoon agianst 21st-ranked Florida Tech, but were unable to hang on for the victory as the Panthers used a 19-5 run over the final six-plus minutes of the contest to post a 77-64 Sunshine State Conference win at the Clemente Center and snap the Mocassins' two-game win streak.
With the setback, the Mocs fell to 11-11 overall and 5-7 in the SSC, while Tech improved to 19-3 overall and 9-3 SSC.
FSC was trying to collect its second win in the last week against a ranked opponent after earning a 78-63 home win last Saturday over then 24th-ranked Nova Southeastern.
"Our kids played their butts off today," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said following the game. "Florida Tech is a good team and we battled with them all day, but just fell a little short.
"Hopefully, this is something we can build on moving forward."
The Moccasins, who trailed 36-29 at the half, opened the second half on a 12-4 run to push out to a 41-40 lead following a trey from senior guard Syerra Davis (Tolleson, Ariz.). After a lay-up from Kayk Wilson gave the Panthers a 42-41 lead, the Mocs used a 12-5 run to take a 53-47 lead with 10:15 left in the game following two free throws by Davis, who led the way for the Mocs with 17 points, including scoring 12 in the second half.
After Davis' free throws, Wilson drilled a trey from about 25 feet to bring the Panthers within three points at the 9:43 mark to begin a 7-0 run for the Panthers that gave them a 54-53 lead with 8:24 remaining.
The Mocs, though, would respond as freshman guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.) scored on a jumper with 7:54 left to give FSC a 55-54 lead. The two teams would then take turns holding the lead until Blassage scored on a lay-up with 6:24 left to give FSC its final lead of the game at 59-58.
In addition to Davis, Blassage finished with 12 points, while junior guard Syndi Payne (Conyers, Ga.) added 13 points, five rebounds and a career-high tying four steals on the day.
One player the Panthers were able to hold in check on Saturday was Moccasin junior forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) as she finished with just nine points off the bench as she battled foul trouble. Coming into Saturday's game, Harris was averaging 14.8 points per game against the Panthers in five career games and scored 21 points in the teams meeting earlier this season.
The Mocs defense collected 13 steals for the game and forced the Panthers into 19 turnovers that led to 19 points. The Mocs, though, were outrebounded, 39-24, including 13-5 on the offensive glass.
Tech was paced by a game-high 21 points from Wilson, while Jasmire Brown added 13 points off the bench and Hynes chipped in with 10 points and six assists in the win.
The Panthers jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the opening three minutes of the game, before the Mocs answered with a 6-0 run capped by a Payne lay-up to take an 11-10 lead. After Kailyn Ebb gave the Panthers the lead again, the Mocs used an 8-4 run capped by a bucket from junior guard Ali Sanders (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) to take a 19-16 lead.
Tech, though, would respond with an 18-5 run over the nexy seven minutes to pull out to a 34-24 lead. The run was keyed by a combined 11 points from Brown and Wilson as Brown scored six and Wilson added five.
FSC would answer the Panthers flurry with a 5-0 run capped by back-to-back lay-up from Blassage and Payne to pull within 34-29, before Wilson scored with a 62 seconds left in the opening half to give the Panthers a 36-29 lead at the half.
For the game, the Mocs shot 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line, including shooting 48 percent from the floor and 50 percent from downtown in the second half. Tech finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field, but was held to 29 percent (4-for-14) shooting from long distance.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the game was at the free throw line as the Panthers shot 12 more free throws than the Mocs (26-14) and made seven more than FSC made (17-10). Tech shot 18 free throws in the second half, while the Mocs went to the line just eight times in the final 20 minutes.
On the game, FSC shot 71 percent (10-for-14) at the line, while Tech shot 65 percent (17-for-26) from the charity stripe.
FSC will look to start a new win streak this coming Wednesday, Feb. 18 as they travel to St. Petersburg for a 5:30 p.m. game against Eckerd (18-6 overall, 8-5 SSC). The Tritons, who posted a 61-58 win on Saturday at 14th-ranked Rollins and swept the season series from the Tars, earned a 69-58 win in Lakeland on Jan. 14.
