Mocs Host Embry-Riddle Saturday in Final Non-Conference Game of Regular Season

OPENING NUMBERS OF NOTE...
1,198 - # of career points scored by Dominique Williams. He is the 40th Moccasin to score 1,000 points and currently stands 16th on school's all-time scoring list and is within two points of becoming the 16th Moccasin in school history to score at least 1,200 points.
205 - # of career coaching wins for Mike Donnelly entering Saturday's game with Embry-Riddle.
167 - # of wins for the Mocs since beginning of the 2009-10 season, which is the second most among South Region schools.
89 - # of seasons of Moccasin men's basketball entering 2015-16.
50 - # of years for Jenkins Field House entering 2015-16 season.
31 - # of wins for the Mocs during the 2015 calendar year.
31-8 - FSC's record during the 2015 calendar year.
29 - # of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances all-time.
26-15 - FSC's record in SSC openers all-time in school history.
23 - Single game school record 3-pointers hit by the Mocs in its 128-84 win against Miles on Dec. 20, 2015.
8 - # of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the Mocs.4 - # of consecutive SSC Tournament titles for the Mocs.
2 - # of Division II basketball national titles won by FSC (1981 & 2015).
2 - # of triple-doubles in school history - Dylan Travis recorded the school's first triple-double against Miles (11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) while Jarel Spellman earned the second on Feb. 3 with 10 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, and a school record 12 blocked shots vs. Palm Beach Atlantic.

MOCCASIN QUICK NOTES
* - This is the 89th season of Moccasin basketball.
* - The Mocs played two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents in exhibition play as they opened the exhibition slate with a 112-68 loss at reigning Division I National Champion Duke on Oct. 30 and then fell 96-54 to Syracuse on Nov. 8 to conclude exhibition play.  
* - It is the first time the Mocs opened the season with an exhibition game against an NCAA Division I foe since falling 110-88 to Florida to open the 2013-14 season. FSC also faced Tennessee during exhibition play in 2013-14. 
* - FSC opened the season with back-to-back losses at the SSC/GSC Challenge last weekend in Livingston, Ala., as the Mocs fell to West Alabama (90-78) and Delta State (77-63). The 0-2 start to the season is the first for the Mocs since the 1978-79 season. 
* - After losing its first two games this season, the Mocs reeled off four consecutive victories, including opening SSC play with wins at home over Barry and on the road against Lynn, before dropping four straight games at Saint Leo, at home against Florida Tech, at Stillman and at Palm Beach Atlantic. 
* - Since the win over Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 17, the Moc have won just five of its last 14 games with the only wins coming at home against both Miles (128-84) and Tampa (93-75), on the road at Nova Southeastern (84-79), at home vs. Palm Beach Atlantic (91-77) and at Tampa (73-72) this past Wednesday.
* - With its wins over Barry and Lynn to open SSC play this season, it marked the third time in the last four seasons that the Mocs had opened SSC play by winning its first two games. 
* - FSC finished the 2014-15 season with a school record 36 wins and posted a 36-1 overall record and captured the school's second-ever national title in men's basketball and first since 1981. In addition, the Mocs also won its third consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season title and took home its fourth straight SSC Tournament championship.
* - The Mocs were tabbed to finish third in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll and earned 36 votes in the Preseason NABC Division II Coaches' Poll. In addition, the Mocs were ranked 15th in Preseason D2SIDA National Media Poll. 
* - The Mocs came into the 2015-16 season having won a school record 25 consecutive games since suffering a 107-102 loss to Barry in its SSC opener on Jan. 2, 2015, before dropping its season opener against West Alabama. Since that loss to the Bucs, the Mocs closed last year's regular season by winning its final 16 games, before winning all nine of its games in the 2015 postseason.  
* - FSC returns four key reserves from last season's national championship squad, but must replace all five of its starters who were seniors a season ago.
* - The Mocs opened the 2014-15 season with an 11-0 record for the second consecutive season and 10th time in school history last season. In 2013-14, the Mocs opened the season by winning its first 18 games. 
* - Over the past eight seasons, FSC is the second winningest NCAA men's basketball program in the state of Florida as they have won 219 games. Only first year NCAA Division II member Embry-Riddle has won more games (224) over that same span than the Mocs.
* - FSC stands 17th all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,385 wins and is one of 20 D-II programs to  record more than 1,350 all-time victories. In addition, FSC's .638 all-time winning percentage is 18th best in Division II.
* - The Mocs are seeking to win 20 or more games for the ninth consecutive season in 2015-16. FSC is one of just two Division II schools (West Liberty is the other) to post 20-win campaigns the past eight seasons.
* - FSC has won an SSC-best 22 regular season and 23 SSC Tournament titles and has made 29 NCAA Tournament appearances, which is third most in Division II.
* - The Mocs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament the past eight seasons and is one of just two Division II schools to play in the NCAA Tournament the past eight seasons, the other being Seattle Pacific, who earned its 11th consecutive tournament berth in 2014-15. 
* - The Mocs finished 2014-15 ranked No. 1 in the final NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll. The Mocs have been ranked in the Top 10 for 29 of the past 31 regular season polls, including being ranked No. 1 in the final five polls of last season.
* - FSC earned 36 votes in this year's Preseason NABC Coaches' Poll and is third among the 40 schools earning votes in the Preseason poll. It marked just the seventh time since the NABC began a preseason poll in 1996 that the Mocs have not been preseason ranked and the second straight season that the defending Division II national champion wasn't preseason ranked. 

MOCCASINS SEEK SECOND STRAIGHT WIN, CLOSES NON-CONFERENCE PLAY SATURDAY AT HOME WITH EMBRY-RIDDLE
The reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Florida Southern Moccasins (10-15 overall, 5-9 SSC) will step out of Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 20 as they host Embry-Riddle in a 7:30 p.m. game at Jenkins Field House. The game will mark the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Moccasins, who are 5-6 on the season in non-conference games. The Embry-Riddle game is the second half of a doubleheader at Jenkins Field House as the Moccasin women (20-4 overall and 10-4 in the SSC) faces the Embry-Riddle women (6-17) in a 5:30 p.m. game. 

FSC, who is playing its seventh home game in 2016 and 13th overall home game this season, is 6-6 at home during the 2015-16 season. The Mocs have lost eight of their last 11 games with the only victories being an 84-79 win at Nova Southeastern on ESPN3 on Jan. 16, a 91-77 non-conference home win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Feb. 3 and a 73-72 win on Wednesday at Tampa. In fact, since the beginning of the 2015-16 calendar year, the Mocs have posted a 4-8 record with two of those four wins coming at home. 

WILLIAMS CLIMBING UP ALL-TIME SCORING CHARTS
Senior guard Dominique Williams made history in the Mocs game on Jan. 9 against 12th-ranked Eckerd as he scored 17 points to become the 40th all-time member of Florida Southern's 1,000 Point Club. He entered the Eckerd game needing just one point to reach the 1,000 point plateau and he scored that one point he needed on a free throw just 72 seconds into the game.

In his three-plus seasons as a Moccasin, Williams has now scored 1,198 points, including scoring 472 points in 24 games this season and is currently sitting 16th on the school's all-time scoring chart. Williams needs just two points on Saturday against Embry-Riddle to become the 16th Moccasin to score at least 1,200 career points. 

Williams, who is the ninth Moccasin to score 1,000 points since the 2006-07 season, is averaging 10.1 points per game as he has shot 409-for-920 from the field (44.5 percent) and is 170-for-417 (40.8 percent) from the 3-point line in his Moccasin career. He has reached double figures in 48 career games, including the 23 straight, with 20 or more points in a game 16 times in his career, including 12 games this season. 

SCOUTING THE MOCCASINS
Florida Southern comes into a game fresh off a 73-72 win on Wednesday at Tampa. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Moccasins and also allowed them to move into a tie three-way tie for fifth place in the SSC standings. FSC won the game at UT on an 18-foot jumper by freshman forward Jarel Spellman with 1.7 seconds left in the game. The game also marked the return to the line-up of senior guard Dylan Travis, who had missed five of his last seven games due to injury. 

With its win at Tampa on Wednesday, the Mocs recorded its ninth straight season of winning at least 10 games and also helped them remain alive to earn a spot in the SSC Tournament, which begins on March 2. 

The Mocs continue to be led offensively by Travis and Williams. Travis enters Saturday's action averaging 21.8 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds (7.6), assists (4.9) and steals (2.2) and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from the 3-point line and is fourth in the SSC in free throw shooting at 84.2 percent. Travis has reached in all 20 games he's played in this season and has had 12 games of scoring 20 or more points and has had two 30-plus point games, while Williams is averaging 19.7 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and is fifth in the league in 3-point shooting (42.2 percent) and is second in the SSC in made treys per game (3.2).

Spellman notched the program's second-ever triple-double against Palm Beach Atlantic, scoring all 10 of his points in the second half, while pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds in the game and blocking a school record 12 shots. He grabbed another 10 rebounds at Florida Tech on Feb. 6 and blocked four more shots to give him 21 blocks over his last three games. His efforts garnered him SSC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week. Over his last five games, Spellman is averaging 7.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 blocked shots per game and has now blocked 77 shots on the year, which is third most in single season school history. 

Sheldon Zablotny has added 13.6 points per game while adding 64 three-pointers in his first season with the Moccasins. He has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine games, including a career-high 28 points at Florida Tech 13 days ago. Michael Volovic is fourth on the squad in scoring as he is averaging 13.3 points per game and is coming off a 22 point performance in Wednesday's win at Tampa. Over his last five games, Volovic is averaging 15.2 points per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from the 3-point line and 92 percent at the free throw line.

Florida Southern has attempted the most three-pointers (775) of any team in the Sunshine State Conference and only six other teams in the NCAA Division II have shot more from the three-point line. The Moccasins are fifth in the NCAA in three-points made (291) and fourth in treys made per game (11.0). Both categories are tops in the SSC as is the Mocs' 121 blocks and 980 rebounds. The club is second in the league in scoring offense (85.3), assist/turnover ratio (+1.2), assists per and blocks per game (4.8), as well as, being third in free throw shooting (75.4 percent) and assists (17.0). 

FSC STRONG IN REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE GAMES LAST THREE-PLUS SEASONS
Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Mocs have posted 38-7 record in regular season non-conference games with the seven losses coming against St. Cloud State (91-89) in the opening game of the 2012 Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic and then falling this season against West Alabama and Delta State at the season opening SSC/GSC Challenge and then falling at Stillman, at Palm Beach Atlantic, at home to Mount Olive and at Embry-Riddle. Along with posting a 38-7 record in regular season non-conference action since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Mocs have also lost a combined total of 20 games, with 11 of those setbacks coming in SSC play. The Mocs have also won 26 of its last 27 regular season non-conference home games since the beginning of the 2012-12 season with the only loss coming against Mount Olive on Dec. 19. 

FSC-EMBRY-RIDDLE SERIES
Saturday's game with Embry-Riddle will mark just the sixth-ever meeting between the two schools and the second of two meetings this season as Embry-Riddle earned a 112-91 win earlier this season in Daytona Beach. FSC holds a 3-2 edge in the series. The Mocs lead 2-1 at Embry-Riddle and the series is tied 1-1 in Lakeland. Saturday's game will be the first in the series in Lakeland since suffering an 89-76 loss to the Eagles on Nov. 28, 2001. 

SATURDAY'S GAME IS MATCH-UP OF TWO OF TOP THREE WINNINGEST TEAMS IN FLORIDA SINCE 2007
Saturday's game with Embry-Riddle will pit two of the three winningest NCAA men's basketball programs in the state of Florida since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, the two teams have combined to win 447 games and post a 447-136 overall record. Embry-Riddle has posted a 227-69 record, while FSC has posted a 220-67 mark. Last season, the two schools combined to post a 71-3 record as FSC went 36-1 and Embry-Riddle posted a 35-2 record. 

SCOUTING EMBRY-RIDDLE
Embry-Riddle comes into Saturday's action having won two straight and three of its last four games overall with the only loss being 60-52 setback at Eckerd on Feb. 10. Since that loss to the Tritons, the Eagles have posted back-to-back home wins over Saint Leo (96-56) and Nova Southeastern (60-57). Embry-Riddle enters the game sporting a 14-9 overall record in its second year of transitioning from NAIA to the NCAA level and is in its first year as a provisional member of the Sunshine State Conference.

The Eagles have been strong at home this season as they are sporting a 12-3 overall record, but are just 2-6 away from home and they have dropped their last six road games since picking up a 92-79 win at Tampa on Nov. 30. 

ERAU welcomes back three starters and eight lettermen from last season's school record 35 win squad that posted a 35-2 record and advanced to the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo. The Eagles losses last season came on the road against Thomas (Ga.) and to Cornerstone in the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament. ERAU has posted a 44-4 record since the beginning of last season.   

The Eagles are coached by Steve Ridder (Berea, '81). Ridder has compiled a 654-240 record in his 27th season at Embry-Riddle. During his time at ERAU, Ridder led the program to 20 Sun Conference titles (9 regular season, 11 postseason), 15 NAIA National Tournament berths and the 2000 NAIA National Championship. In addition, he has led the program to 20 20-plus win seasons, five 30-plus win seasons and has coached 36 NAIA All-Americans.  

Embry-Riddle has five players averaging in double figures on the season as junior forward Ognjen Miljkovic leads the way as he is averaging 16.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 84 percent at the free throw line. Miljkovic, who is a transfer from Eastern Washington, scored a game high 27 points and added 13 rebounds in the Eagles win earlier this season over the Mocs. In addition to Miljkovic, junior guard Dalton Barnes is averaging 14.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line and is also averaging 4.3 assists per game. 

The Eagles third double-digit scorer is senior guard Reed Ridder, who is the son of the Eagles coach, is averaging 13.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and is shooting 46 percent from the floor, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the line and had 13 points and six assists in the earlier win this season against the Mocs. 

ERAU's other two double-digit scorers are junior guard Dillon Graham and senior forward Daniel Kiesling. Graham, who is a transfer from the University of Florida, is averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 90 percent from the free throw line and Kiesling is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line.

As a team, the Eagles are averaging 83.4 points per game and are shooting 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent from the free throw line. The Eagles, though, have been held 65 points in four of its last seven games. Meanwhile, on defense, ERAU is allowing its opponents to score 78.2 points per game and their opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line and they are outrebounding their foes by a +5.7 margin and are outscoring its foes by +5.2 points per game.