LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College men's basketball fell to Cedarville at home in their final game of the Terrace Hotel Christmas Classic by a score of 73-82 on Sunday night at Jenkins Field House at the Streamline Sale Arena in Lakeland, Florida.
"They're a good team, and every little mistake that we made, they made us pay," said head coach
Mike Donnelly. "We played until the end there too so that's so important. That is the mentality you have to have; that's what winning players do; that's what a winning program is all about."
Florida Southern drops to 5-7 overall and remains at 2-2 in the Sunshine State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
- The Mocs opened up the scoring for the game and started the half strong with a dunk from Xavier Rhodes.
- Tarik Mckelphin went on a 7-point run with two layups and a 3-pointer to put Florida Southern up 11-2 less than five minutes into the game.
- After a dominating performance by the Mocs, Branden Maughmer shortened Cedarville's deficit to nine with a layup assisted by Conner Tenhove.
- Cedarville began to come back with a pair of 3-pointers from Jayvon Maughmer and Isaiah Speelman, with the Mocs leading only by one.
- A second 3-pointer by Speelman gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game with 8:27 left in the game.
- After a Moccasin timeout, Jadin Booth shot a 3-point jumper to put the Mocs back up by two.
- Rhodes hit junior guard DeAndre Campbell with a breakout pass for Campbell to score his first basket of the game.
- The Mocs were down by a score of 40-32 heading into halftime.
2nd Half
- Mckelphin opened up the scoring for the Mocs with a big 3-pointer.
- Five minutes into the second half, the Mocs were down by nine as both teams traded points.
- Graduate student Jack Casale sent a pass into the paint to assist Wes Bongiorni for a layup, who added another two with a shot off an offensive rebound.
- Campbell had a steal in the Mocs defensive end, causing a fast break opportunity where Booth collected the rebound and scored to bring Florida Southern's deficit to three with 11:27 to go in the game.
- With five minutes to go, the Yellow Jackets built a 14-point lead as they continued to remain efficient from beyond the arc.
- Rhodes hit a contested layup, but Cedarville kept a 16-point lead with 3:30 left in the game.
- The Mocs scored back-to-back baskets just 20 seconds apart with layups from Casale and Olafur Gunnlaugsson which brought Florida Southern within 12 with 2:30 to go in the game.
- Jacob Schner hit a 3-pointer late in the game, and freshman Trey Jones followed up with a dunk, but Cedarville held on for an 82-73 win over the Mocs.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Rhodes led the Mocs with 18 points and led with eight assists on the night.
- Booth and Mckelphin joined Rhodes as players with double-digits, with Booth 3-5 from beyond the arc and 13 total points, and Mckelphin with 12 points.
- Leading the Mocs in rebounds in the game, Bongiorni finished with 10 rebounds and eight points.
- Florida Southern had 23 points off turnovers and 46 points in the paint as the Mocs had 11 steals, a new team-high on the season.
- The Mocs bench outscored the Yellow Jackets bench 24-15.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern takes a break to enjoy the holiday and will return to action in George Jenkins field house at Streamline Sale Arena on December 31. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. against Rollins as the team jumps back into Sunshine State Conference action.
