After earning the right to host quarterfinals of the 2021-22 Sunshine State Conference Tournament, presented by S3 Design, the fourth-seeded Florida Southern College men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals after an 80-78 win over no. 5 Tampa. The Moccasins will tango with the top-seeded and overall no. 1 team in the country, Nova Southeastern Sharks Thursday night.
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Arena: Rick Case Arena
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Coverage: Live Stats –
www.fscmocs.com/stats; Video –
www.fscmocs.com/live
4th Seed - The Moccasins – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Florida Southern advanced to the semifinals after defeating Tampa (the fifth seed) 80-78 Tuesday night in the quarterfinals where
Xavier Rhodes was the hero of the night converting a layup with 1.3-seconds left in regulation. Rhodes' layup glanced high off the glass and rolled in for the go-ahead bucket.
Rhodes finished the game against the Spartans with 20 points and seven rebounds while adding two steals and assists on the night. Four others joined in double-figures with
E.J. Dambreville at 14,
Jack Casale at 13,
DeAndre Campbell with 11, and
Wes Bongiorni with 10.
The Moccasins are 16-13 heading into the next matchup and opened the month of March where they left off in the win column. The Mocs average 81.9 points a game and allow just 0.3 more, 82.1 to their opponents.
E.J. Dambreville leads the team in scoring on the season with 15.1 points per game (ppg) and hauls in a team-best 9.6 rebounds a game, with 260 on the season.
1st Seed - The Sharks – Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Nova Southeastern ended the regular season with an undefeated record, 25-0 and 20-0 SSC, and earned the top-seed in the tournament. The Sharks defeated the eighth-seed Florida Tech Panthers 89-77 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. Eddie Puisis led NSU with 26 points while RJ Sunahara added 22 points ahead of Sekou Sylla's 18 and Mike Moore's 13. Nick Smith continued to be the facilitator he is and paced the Sharks with 13 assists on the night, two shy of the Panthers' team total.
The Sharks average 96.8 points a game and hold opponents to 76.8. Sekou Sylla is the team leader in scoring on the season with 22.5 points per game and is also the team leader in rebounding with 9.9 boards.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
Florida Southern men's basketball advances in the tournament with a 79-19 record overall with five straight quarterfinal wins. The last time the Moccasins competed in the semifinals, Florida Southern defeated Palm Beach Atlantic 104-86 to advance to the 2021 championship game.
The Mocs are 7-2 in the last nine semifinal matchups in the SSC tournament and pulled upsets over the higher seeds in three of those years (2012, 2019, 2021). Florida Southern is 4-0 all-time in the tournament against Nova Southeastern with wins in the 2008 quarterfinals, 2011 quarterfinals, 2019 championship game and the 2020 championship game.
The Matchup – FSC vs NSU
Nova Southeastern swept the season series with 83-73 and 96-76 decisions. Sekou Sylla (NSU) is the series leading scorer with 27.0 points per game and also the leading rebounder hauling in 13.0 boards per game.
E.J. Dambreville (FSC) is second in scoring, in players that played in both regular season matchups, where he averaged 20.5 ppg and grabbed 9.0 rpg.
Jack Casale (FSC) played in one game in the series and scored 23 points.
Milestones Achieved
Jack Casale scored his 2,000
th career point in a 21-point performance against Eckerd on Feb. 19 inside Streamline Sale Arena. Casale, who spent four years at Saint Joseph's College of Maine. In his first season with the Mocs, the Portland, Maine native has 369 points this season.
E.J. Dambreville scored his 1,000
th career point in a 26-point performance in the overtime thriller against No. 24 Embry-Riddle on Feb. 23, where he became just the 25
th player in a Moccasin jersey to accomplish that feat. The Dorchester, Mass. native hit a tough pull-up jumper to push the Mocs ahead 82-81 with 19-seconds left in regulation. Dambreville has 407 points this season.
Head Coach
Mike Donnelly achieved his 300
th career victory as a head coach, standing at 314-228 (.579) heading into Thursday's matchup. The 1997 Sacred Heart graduate is in his 19
th year of coaching with seven years at Post (98-103), five years at Southern Connecticut State (97-49) and his seven years at Florida Southern College (119-76)
Other games around the league:
#2 ERAU vs. #3 Barry - 7:00 PM
Following Thursday's semifinal round, the championship final will be played Sunday, March 6th. The SSC champion will receive automatic qualification to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships. Regional competition will take place at a non-predetermined site beginning on Friday, March 11th. Elite Eight play will take place Monday, March 21st to Friday, March 25th at The Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Sunday, March 6th,
here.
