Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Jarel Spellman set a new school record for career blocks as Florida Southern College men's basketball rallied past Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at Rubin Arena.
The Moccasins (9-13, 7-6 SSC) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but outscored the Sailfish (10-11, 6-8) 33-15 over the final eight minutes of play to stay in the running for a first-round bye in the Sunshine State Conference tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Florida Southern trailed by as many as four points on two occasions in the first half, but was able to keep it close to head into the locker room with just a two-point deficit (39-37). The Moccasins shot 42.4 percent in the first half, and outscored the Sailfish by 15 points (24-9) at the three-point line through the first 20 minutes of play.
• The opening minutes of the first half saw both teams trade jabs, but the big moment came with 17:34 on the clock, when Spellman tallied his sixth block of the game to move past Chsitophe Humbert for first in school history in career blocks. Spellman would end the day with nine blocks to move to 166 in his career.
• With a one-point lead (47-46) with 17:15 to play, PBA mounted a 13-3 run to take its first double-digit lead of the game (60-49) with 12:27 on the clock. The Sailfish would push their lead to a game-high 12 points (70-58) with just over eight minutes to go.
• Florida Southern would respond by reeling off a 26-6 run to take an eight-point lead (84-76) with 1:19 to play. During the run, Tyler Ross scored 10 of his team-high tying 18 points, and Michael Volovic added seven of his 14 points.
• The Moccasins were clutch at the free-throw line down the stretch, going 7-of-10 at the charity stripe in the final minute of play.
• FSC shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, including 17-of-32 from beyond the arc. The Mocs went 18-of-27 at the free-throw line. In all, Florida Southern outscored PBA by 27 points from long range (51-24) and nine points at the charity stripe (18-9).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Florida Southern extended their winning streak against the Sailfish to eight games, and improved to 26-4 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic. The Mocs are 10-4 when facing PBA on the road.
• Spellman finished just shy of his second career triple-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine blocks. His 166 blocks have come in just 51 career games. The previous record of 162 by Christophe Humbert came in 91 games.
• Brett Hanson tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Jeremiah Davis scored 14 points and added seven assists. Hanson also finished with four steals.
• The Moccasins finished with a 47-41 edge in rebounds, and forced 17 turnovers by Palm Beach Atlantic.
UP NEXT
• Florida Southern stays on the road to face Florida Tech on Feb. 8, before returning home to take on Embry-Riddle on Feb. 11.
