Mocs Host Palm Beach Atlantic Wednesday, Look to Snap Four-Game Losing Skid

OPENING NUMBERS OF NOTE...
2006-07 - The last time the Mocs lost five consecutive games in a season. That season the Mocs lost nine consecutive games.
1978-79 - The last time the Mocs lost its first two games to open a season.
1,111 - # of career points scored by Dominique Williams. He is the 40th Moccasin to score 1,000 points and currently stands 23rd on all-time scoring list.
203 - # of career coaching wins for Mike Donnelly entering Wednesday's game with Palm Beach Atlantic.
165 - # 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).
1 - # of triple-doubles in school history as Dylan Travis recorded the school's lone triple-double against Miles (11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists).

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 three of its last 10 games with the only wins coming at home against both Miles (128-84) and Tampa (93-75) and on the road at Nova Southeastern (84-79). 
* - 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 218 games. Only first year NCAA Division II member Embry-Riddle has won more games (223) over that same span than the Mocs.
* - FSC stands 17th all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,383 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. 

REIGNING NATIONAL CHAMPION MOCS LOOK TO SNAP FOUR-GAME LOSING SKID ON WEDNESDAY AGAINST PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
The reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Florida Southern Moccasins (8-13 overall, 4-7 SSC) is looking to put the brakes on a four-game losing skid on Wednesday, Feb. 3 as they conclude a brief two-game homestand at Jenkins Field House (2,500) with a 7:30 p.m. non-conference South Region contest against Palm Beach Atlantic (11-8 overall). Wednesday's game will mark the 11th non-conference games on the season for the Mocs and its 11th home game of the year. The game is the second of a doubleheader at Jenkins Field House as the Moccasin women (17-3 overall) host the Palm Beach Atlantic women (9-10 overall) at 5:30 p.m.

FSC is playing its ninth game of the New Year and its fifth home game in 2016 as the Mocs are 5-5 at home this season, including being 3-1 at home in non-conference play. The Mocs have lost six of its last seven games with its only victory being an 84-79 win at Nova Southeastern on ESPN3 on Jan. 16. The win at Nova Southeastern not only snapped a two-game losing skid for the Mocs, it also snapped a four game road losing skid for the Mocs since picking up an 88-80 overtime win at USC Aiken.

After opening the season by losing its first two games, the Mocs reeled off four consecutive victories, including opening SSC play with back-to-back victories over Barry (74-72) and Lynn (98-91). Following the four-game winning streak, FSC lost four straight games. Since that four game losing skid, the Mocs have won just four of its last 11 games with the losses being a 94-84 home loss to Mount Olive on Dec. 19, a 112-91 setback at Embry-Riddle, an 84-70 loss at home to then 12th-ranked Eckerd on Jan. 9, an 89-72 setback at Rollins, a 100-89 home loss to Lynn, a 101-63 setback last Wednesday at then 24th-ranked Barry and an 89-86 loss in its last outing on Saturday against Saint Leo. 

MOCS LOOK TO SNAP FOUR-GAME LOSING SKID
The Mocs come into Wednesday's home non-conference game with Palm Beach Atlantic looking to snap a four-game losing skid since picking up a win at Nova Southeastern on Jan. 16. It is the second four-game losing skid of the season for the Mocs. FSC hasn't lost five consecutive games in a season since losing nine straight games during the 2006-07 season.

FSC STRONG IN REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE GAMES LAST THREE-PLUS SEASONS
Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Mocs have posted 37-7 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 37-7 record in regular season non-conference action since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Mocs have also lost a combined total of 25 games, with 16 of those setbacks coming in SSC play. The Mocs have also won 25 of its last 26 regular season non-conference home games since the beginning of the 2012-12 season with the only loss coming against Mount Olive earlier this season.   

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 1,111 points, including scoring 385 points in 20 games this season and is currently sitting 23rd on the school's all-time scoring chart. 

Williams, who is the ninth Moccasin to score 1,000 points since the 2006-07 season, is averaging 9.7 points per game as he has shot 376-for-853 from the field (44.1 percent) and is 155-for-384 (40.4 percent) from the 3-point line in his Moccasin career and has reached double figures in 44 career games, including 19 times this season and has scored 20 or more points in a game 14 times in his career, including scoring 20 or more points in 10 games this season. Williams has scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games since being held to five points in his first game of the 2015-16 season against Delta State. 

SCOUTING THE MOCCASINS 
Florida Southern enters Wednesday's second to last non-conference game of the season looking to snap a four-game losing skid that has dropped the Mocs overall record to 8-13 on the season. The four ame losing skid came on the heels of an 84-79 win at Nova Southeastern on Jan. 16. Since that win over the Sharks, the Mocs have fallen on the road at both Rollins (89-72) and Barry (101-63) and at home to both Lynn (100-89) and Saint Leo (89-86). Since the beginning of the 2016 calendar year, the Mocs have posted a 2-6 record with the two victories coming at home against Tampa (93-75) and on the road against Nova Southeastern (84-79). 

FSC's eight wins in its first 21 games of the season are its fewest since the 2006-07 squad coached by former coach Linc Darner posted a 6-15 record through its first 21 games. The Mocs have won four of those eight games in non-conference play as they are sporting a 4-6 in conference games, but have lost two of its last three non-conference games with the only win being a 128-84 victory to close out the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule against Miles College. 

The Mocs other non-conference wins have come against Puerto Rico-Bayamon (94-67), at USC Aiken (88-80 in overtime), Eastern New Mexico (100-90) and Miles. FSC is 3-1 at home in non-conference play and is 1-5 away from home in non-conference action. 

As a team, the Mocs are second in the SSC and 29th nationally in scoring as they are averaging 86.4 points per game and have scored 90 or more points in six of its last 14 games, including topping the century mark in two of its last four victories. Along with averaging 86.4 points per game, the Mocs are shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent from the free throw line. FSC leads the SSC and is fifth nationally in 3-pointers made per game as they are making 11.4 treys per game and have hit 10 or more treys in 12 of its last 13 games, including a school record 23 treys in its 44-point win over Miles and 13 games overall on the season. On defense, the Mocs are allowing a league worst 88.7 points per game and have allowed 11 of its 21 opponents to score 90 or more points, including allowing a season high 112 points to Embry-Riddle. FSC's foes are shooting 47 percent from the floor, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line and the Mocs have a +1.1 turnover margin and a -2.8 rebound margin.

TRAVIS, WILLIAMS LEADING THE WAY FOR THE MOCS
Leading the way for the Mocs offensively this season are senior guards Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.) and Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.).

Travis, who has been named a two-time SSC Player of the Week this season as he earned the Defensive Player of the Week accolade on Dec. 21 and was named the Player of the Week on Nov. 23 and was also named the USBWA Division II National Player of the Week on Nov. 24, is second in the league and 27th nationally in scoring at 21.8 points per game and is fifth in the league in rebounding (7.9 rpg), fifth in assists (4.8 apg) and leads the league in steals (2.1 spg) and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent (113-for-136) from the free throw line. Travis has hit 54 of his last 64 free throws (84.4 percent) and is 20th nationally in made free throws. Travis, who was named the Division II Bulletin Player of the Month for November, has scored 20 or more points in 11 of 18 games, including tallying a career high 32 points against Eastern New Mexico and has scored in double figures in 19 straight games, including all 18 games this season and 23 times in his last 24 games overall dating to last season and leads the team in double-doubles with five and recorded the program's first-ever triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) against Miles in the Mocs final game before the holiday break.

Williams is sixth in the SSC in scoring as he is averaging 19.3 points per game and is also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line, which is sixth in the SSC and is averaging 3.1 made treys per game, which is second in the SSC. Williams has reached double figures in 19 straight games and has scored 20 or more points in nine of his last 16 games, including three times in his last four games. 

MOCS SIXTH IN D-II IN MADE TREYS, FIFTH IN 3-POINTERS ATTEMPTED
FSC comes into this week's action leading the SSC and is sixth in Division II in made three-pointers with 239 and is fifth in Division II in 3-point shot attempts (647). The Mocs 239 made treys is 20 less than the Division II leader Adelphi has hit as they have made 259 treys in 22 games this season. The Mocs are one of eight D-II teams that have made 220 or more 3-pointers on the year as King (Tenn.) is second with 252 made treys, while Minnesota State-Moorhead and West Liberty are tied for third with 246 made treys.

As a team, FSC is averaging 11.4 made treys per game, which is tops in the SSC and is fifth nationally. FSC has hit 10 or more treys in a game 13 times, including 11 times in its last 12 games. While they are averaging 11.4 made treys per game, the Mocs are averaging 30.8 3-point shot attempts per game and have shot 30 or more treys in a game 11 times, including seven times in their last nine outings.

FSC-PALM BEACH ATLANTIC SERIES 
Wednesday's game with Palm Beach Atlantic will mark the 28th all-time meeting between the two schools as FSC leads the series, 23-4. Wednesday's match-up is the second of two meetings this season as the Sailfish won the first meeting in overtime (99-96) in West Palm Beach on Dec. 12. PBA's win earlier this snapped a 14 game win streak for the Mocs in the series. 

FSC holds a commanding 13-0 lead in the series in Lakeland and also holds a 9-4 edge in West Palm Beach Beach and also won the only meeting on a neutral court. Donnelly is 0-1 as the Mocs coach against Palm Beach Atlantic. 

SCOUTING PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
Palm Beach Atlantic comes into Wednesday's game having won five of its last seven games to improve its record to 11-8 overall on the season. The Sailfish's only losses during this stretch have come at then 5th-ranked Eckerd (79-67) on Jan. 23 and at home to Nova Southeastern (79-78) in its last action this past Saturday. In fact, since picking up its overtime win over FSC on Dec. 12, PBA has posted a 6-3 record. The loss to Eckerd snapped a four-game winning streak by the Sailfish and after falling to Eckerd, PBA earned a home win over Embry-Riddle (72-66) last Wednesday.

The Sailfish have struggled away from home this season as they are 3-5 on the road this season. PBA has lost three of its last five games away from home with the losses coming at Eckerd, Saint Leo and Nova Southeastern. Meanwhile, PBA has posted an 8-3 record at home and had its five game home win streak snapped with its loss this past Saturday to Nova Southeastern.

PBA is coached by Dave Balza (Michigan, '91), who is in his third season at Palm Beach Atlantic, but is no stranger to the Sunshine State as he spent nine seasons as the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast (2002-11). Balza has recorded a 29-42 record with the Sailfish and has compiled a 243-230 record in his 16th season as collegiate head coach. Along with coaching at FGCU, Balza has also been a head coach at St. Joseph's (Ind.) and Bethany Lutheran and also spent time as an assistant at Ashland in Ohio. In fact, Balza's replacement at Ashland was former Moccasin head coach Linc Darner, while one season after Balza left St. Joseph's, Darner was hired by the Pumas as their head coach.           

Leading the way for the Sailfish is freshman guard Bakari Warthen, who is a West Palm Beach native. On the season, Warthen is averaging 18.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent from the free throw line. He has reached double figures in 18 of 19 games, including scoring 20 or more points in eight games. He had 14 points and nine rebounds against the Mocs earlier this season.

In addition to Warthen, two other Sailfish are averaging in double figures on the season - senior forward Michael Simpson and senior guard Derick Yepes. Simpson is averaging 11.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the 3-point line and has hit a team-best 38 treys and has reached double figures in nine games, including scoring 21 points against the Mocs earlier this season and Yepes is averaging 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line and has reached double figures in nine games on the year.  

As a team, Palm Beach Atlantic is averaging 79.8 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line and is getting outrebounded by a -1.2 margin and is averaging 16.7 turnovers per game. The Sailfish have scored 80 or more points in a seven times, including a season high 100 points in a 100-99 win over Barry earlier this season. On defense, PBA is allowing 80.5 points per game and their foes are shooting 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line.