FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida Southern College men's basketball had no easy task Saturday. The Moccasins traveled to the number one team in Division II, Nova Southeastern University and fell 96-76 after hanging tough in the first half of play at Rick Case Arena.
"We knew it was going to be a challenge defensively today," Head Coach
Mike Donnelly commented. "Our offensive struggles in the second half really made it difficult. We battled and gave ourselves a fighting change with out play in the first half, but our scoring drought early in the second was too much to overcome. As I told the team after the game, we just need to focus on Saint Leo. That's the only thing that matters."
The Mocs (12-13, 9-8 SSC) gave the Sharks (22-0, 16-0 SSC) a battle in the first half where FSC trailed by just five at the halftime break. Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern traded the lead six times while playing to a tie five times over the opening 20 minutes. The Mocs shot 51.72-percent from the field and 42.86-percent from beyond the arc to contend with top-ranked Sharks at the break.
After Nova Southeastern claimed the lead with 6:43 to play in the first half, the Sharks would control the pace for the remainder of the game. The two teams played nearly identical ball where NSU barely edged FSC in points in the paint, 38-30, bench points 21-20, and fast-break points 15-7. The Mocs tallied 17 second-chance points thanks to 11 offensive rebounds led by
Wes Bongiorni's three rebounds. Bongiorni finished the night with six total boards behind
E.J. Dambreville's team-high nine rebounds.
Jack Casale and Dambreville led the Mocs in scoring with 23 points while Bongiorni tallied 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
Xavier Rhodes added nine points for Florida Southern.
Up Next
Florida Southern closes out road games in the 2021-22 regular season with a trip to Saint Leo on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Mocs and Lions tip-off at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center in a battle for Sunshine State Conference postseason positioning.
