Box Score LIVINGSTON, Ala. - Another 20-point night from Brett Hanson and a block party from Jalyn Hinton helped lead Florida Southern College men's basketball past West Alabama, 76-59, in the final game of the GSC/SSC Challenge on Sunday afternoon at Pruitt Hall. The Moccasins (2-0) topped the Tigers (1-1) for the second year in a row as Hanson scored 26 points and Hinton tallied seven blocks, the most for a Moc in more than two years.
Southern absolutely dominated in nearly all facets of the game, holding West Alabama to just 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the floor while finishing with eight total blocks and 12 steals. The Moccasins outscored the Tigers 28-0 on the fast break and controlled the interior with a 42-22 scoring edge in the paint. In addition to Hanson, who fell just shy of the fourth triple-double in school history by adding eight rebounds and eight assists to his stat line, Hinton (12), E.J. Dambreville (11), and Jack Rauch (11) also scored in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Florida Southern raced out to an early 8-0 lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Rauch in the opening minute of action, but West Alabama clawed back with a 10-1 run to grab a 10-9 lead at the 16:01 mark of the first half. The Mocs responded by scoring the next six points, uncluding thunderous dunks from Dambreville and Hinton, to regain the lead at 15-10 and would never trail again.
- Leading by just four (23-19) after UWA's Justin Allison connected from long range with 9:37 left in the first half the Moccasins went on another 7-0 run, again highlighted dunks from Dambreville and Hinton, to take their first double-digit lead of the game (30-19) with 7:06 on the clock. The Tigers were able to trim the deficit to five (30-25) on Lajuan Hardy's three at the 5:35 mark, but the Mocs outscored West Alabama 16-8 over the final five minutes to take a 46-33 lead into the locker room.
- UWA would come out hot in the second half, and used a 13-4 run to slice Southern's lead to just four (50-46) with 12:47 to play, but the Moccasins found their offensive footing again and mounted a 16-5 run to go up by 15 points (66-51) on Dambreville's layup at the 7:15 mark. It would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Tigers as Florida Southern's lead swelled to 76-55 with 1:19 remaining, and the Mocs cruised to their second-straight win.
- Hanson finished the night 10-of-20 from the floor while grabbing four steals to add to his 26 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Hinton went 5-of-9 from the field, and Dambreville connected on 5-of-9 attempts. Brandon Carroll added nine points off the bench as Florida Southern shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and forced the Tigers into 17 turnovers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Florida Southern improved to 4-3 all-time against West Alabama, including a 2-1 record when facing the Tigers on the road. The Mocs have beaten UWA each of the past two times the teams have met, and have won their last five contests in the GSC/SSC Challenge dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
- Hinton's seven total blocks were the most for any Moccasin since Feb. 11, 2017, when Jarel Spellman tallied eight against Embry-Riddle en route to SSC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Hinton finished with 10 total blocks on the weekend
- Hanson scored in double figures for the 23rd-straight game dating back to last season and scored 20 or more for the 11th time during that stretch. He pushed his career scoring total to 1,593 and needs 21 more to move into eighth place in school history in career scoring. He also upped his career rebound total to 644 and needs 16 more to move into 14th in school history in total rebounds.
- In addition to his scoring and rebound totals, Hanson (303) is now just 70 assists shy of cracking the top 10 in school history and moved into eighth in career steals (164).
- The Moccasins had eight dunks on Sunday, with four coming from Hinton. Florida Southern scored on 41 of its 73 possessions (56.2 percent) and averaged 15 seconds per possession.
- West Alabama's 59 points are tied for the third-lowest opponent point total since the start of the 2014-15 season.
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins will travel to USC Aiken (Nov. 16), Embry-Riddle (Nov. 20), and Barry (Nov. 23) before opening their home slate on Nov. 29 against New Haven.
