LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College men's basketball team officially began the 2021 campaign today, after a scant 348 day layoff, and defeated the visiting Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, 92-77, on Saturday evening. The non-conference game was the season opener for both programs.
Graduate student Brandon Carroll led all scorers with 32 points, as he shot 61% from the floor for the game. The Mocs added 16 blocked shots on the defensive end, led by senior Jalyn Hinton, who corrected six shots by himself.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
- A slow start for the Mocs led to a quick 5-0 deficit, before Carroll knocked down his first shot attempt of the day, almost two minutes into the game. He made the attached free throw for a traditional three-point play, and the Mocs trailed, 5-3.
- Later, Southern would go on an 8-0 run, capped by a Hinton short jumper. The Mocs led for the first time, 11-9, at the 14:25 mark.
- PBA retaliated, recapturing the lead, then extending it to as many as ten points, midway through the first half.
- Carroll would convert a turnover into a fast break layup with 6:03 to go, making the score 30-27, in favor of PBA.
- The teams traded baskets, with the Mocs trimming the lead down to just one point, 34-33, as Carroll again converted a turnover into a fast break layup, with just 1:33 remaining in the half.
- The Sailfish would close out the half by scoring the remaining four points, taking a 38-33 lead at the break.
- In the first half, PBA shot an even 40% from the floor, while the Mocs shot 37.8%
- Carroll led all scorers with 13 points through the first 20 minutes, with junior guard Xavier Rhodes adding seven.
2nd Half
- Head Coach Mike Donnelly used halftime to settle his squad down, in their first game of the season. The jitters were gone; now it was time to play Florida Southern Basketball.
- PBA had the upper hand early, pushing the lead to eight points, three minutes in.
- Down seven with 15:16 to play, the Mocs found their shooting touch. First, Carroll connected on a three, followed by a fast break layup from freshman Wes Bongiorni, then a three pointer from Bongiorni, and suddenly the Mocs led once again, 53-52, with 14:01 to play. The Mocs would never trail again.
- Southern was not done. Rhodes nailed a three, then Bongiorni had a fast break dunk, which sparked a PBA timeout at the 12:45 mark.
- Redshirt freshman Farris Kabalaoui would score his first collegiate points on a three-pointer to push the lead to six points midway through the half.
- Hinton followed with a jumper, before Carroll scored the next five points, pushing the lead to 12 points, 74-62.
- With three minutes to play, Bongiorni made a layup to extend the lead to 17 points, at 85-68.
- The lead would be at its highest, 19 points, when Rhodes made a running layup with 2:32 to play.
- The Mocs would win, 92-77, outscoring PBA 59-39 in the second half alone.
- In the second stanza, Florida Southern made 24 of the 29 shots taken from the floor, a whopping 82.8%.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Florida Southern has now won its last 18 games played, extending back to last season.
- For the game, PBA out-rebounded FSC, 41-37.
- Freshman Trey Jones made the most of his nine minutes played, tallying five points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
- Carroll led all scorers with a career-high 32 points, followed by Rhodes and Bongiorni with 14 apiece, and Hinton with 12. Hinton added 11 rebounds, for the game's only double-double. Freshman Dominick Denny added seven points and three assists.
- Hinton added six blocked shots tonight. Combined with his 99 from a year ago, he now has 105 blocks in just 29 games played. His total puts him in ninth place in Florida Southern history in total blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Florida Southern is currently scheduled to play next on Wednesday, February 24, at Saint Leo University. Stay tuned to FSCMocs.com for schedule updates.
