Men's Basketball Lose Tough Conference Game Against Florida Tech

Box Score MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's basketball team lose 85-80 in a tough conference match with Florida Tech Wednesday night at Charles and Ruth Clemente Center in Melbourne.

Jadin Booth led the Mocs with 21 points, with five total 3-pointers. Tied late, Florida Southern (2-5) was unable to score the last minute as the Panthers (7-1) held on. Tarik Mckelphin added 20 points and seven rebounds.

"We were right there to win the game, but they made more plays than we did," said head coach Mike Donnelly. Despite another close game toward the end, the Mocs were unable to get the needed points. "We gotta get more comfortable and confident in playing in those situations [close late games]. Right now we are falling short of making those big plays."


HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half

• Florida Southern found themselves in an early 9-0 deficit, before Xavier Rhodes hit a layup for the Mocs to get on the board at 15:57 on the clock
• Jack Casale hit his first three and 11-5 Panthers lead at the first media timeout
• Booth hit a contested layup and brought the Mocs within four at 13:43, and hit back-to-back threes shortly after with a 19-13 Panthers lead at 11:30
• With his first bucket of the night, Mckelphin hit a step-back jumper and another score to narrow the deficit to two at the midpoint of the half
• The Mocs tied the game at 25 from a 3 by Booth
• At the next media timeout, the Mocs were down by two for a 30-28 Panthers advantage
• E.J. Dambreville fought for a tough layup to keep Florida Southern within reach and 32-30 score at 5:27
• Booth hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night for a 37-35 Panthers lead with 3:05 left in the half
• Off an inbound pass, DeAndre Campbell hit a layup and and-one opportunity for the Mocs first lead of the game, 38-37 with 1:52 on the clock
• Casale continued the lead with a jumper under a minute left
• Florida Tech hit a score at the end of the half for a 41-40 lead
• Florida Southern ended the half shooting 16-for-36 (44 percent)
• Booth led all scorers with 14 points for Florida Southern, while Casale was right behind with 11 points

 
Second Half

• FSC tied the game at 42 to start the second half with a pull-up jumper by Babatunde Ajike
• A 3-pointer by Mckelphin gave the Mocs the 45-43 lead at 17:54 on the clock
• A steal by Booth led to a feed to Luke Anderson and tie game at 47
• Booth was fouled and hit both free throws as Mckelphin added a layup and 51-49 lead with 14:29 left
• After a Florida Tech score, Mckelphin hit a three and Rhodes went two-for-two at the line for a four point Moccasin lead
• The Mocs had an 8-0 run after a three by Rhodes and seven point lead
• The Panthers scored on a couple shots before Mckelphin scored to keep the Mocs with the lead
• After a tie game, Booth retook the lead with his fifth 3-pointer on the night and 66-63 lead with 7:24 on the clock
• Florida Tech took the lead back as the Mocs struggled to find the basket and stop a 9-0 run by the Panthers
• Rhodes hit both free throws and stayed within four with 5:34 left
• Both teams traded 3-pointers, with Anderson's leading to a two-point game
• A steal by Mckelphin found Rhodes for an easy layup and 78-77 Panthers lead with 2:55 left in the game
• The Mocs took a timeout with a 78-78 tie game with 1:30 on the clock
• The Panthers score four points for the lead, but Rhodes hit two free throws for an 82-80 game with 26.8 left in the game
• Florida Tech hit one free throw for three point lead with 14 seconds left, which the Mocs were unable to recover as the Panthers hold on

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• The Mocs shot 46.7% from beyond the arc in the first half, and 44.4% from the field
• Florida Tech outrebounded Florida Southern 47-40.
• The Mocs ended up shooting 39 percent from the field (28-for-71) and connected on 12 total 3-pointers.
• Four Mocs had double digit points with Booth leading the pack with 21, Mckelphin finished with 20, as Rhodes had 14 and Casale had 11 points.

 
 
UP NEXT
Florida Southern will host Palm Beach Atlantic for their first home conference game of the season this Saturday, December 4^th, set for a 7:30 PM tip off.