Moon IV Scores Career High as #25 Mocs Drop Top 25 Matchup with #10 Nighthawks

LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 25 Florida Southern College men's basketball dropped its Mocs Thanksgiving Classic final to No. 10 North Georgia 95-83 at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.

"We got beat by a very good team tonight and had no answer for Champion and White. Credit to North Georgia," Mike Donnelly, Florida Southern's head coach commented. "We hit a drought offensively in the second half, and they did a good job making us pay at the defensive end. We told our guys afterward that we needed to hit the reset button and come back to practice on Monday to start preparing for our conference opener on Wednesday night. I believe in our team and believe in our players."

Sophomore Alex Steen paced the Moccasins (4-3) offensively on the night with 20 points, one shy of his career-high from a year ago. Steen added seven rebounds and two blocks in 34 minutes of action.
 
Joe Moon IV and Luke Anderson joined Steen in double-digits as Moon dropped a career-high 19 points in 34 minutes of action with four assists, two rebounds, and one steal. Anderson added 14 points to the total for Florida Southern.
 
Seven others scored in the game for Florida Southern, with Akol Arop totaling eight points, Erickson Bans six, Dominick Denny five, Connor Raines four, and Noah Louis and Riley Buccino each with two, while Sam Walters went 1-for-1 from beyond the arc for his first career points as a Moccasin.
 
No. 10 North Georgia's (5-1) AJ White and Frank Champion led the Nighthawks offensively with 32 and 30 points, respectively. Eric Jones and Case Roach chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.
 
From the tip, the game was back and forth where each team traded points. The Nighthawks would push out to an 11-point advantage at 14:34, 20-9. The Moccasins would use a 15-4 run to tie the game at 24 with 7:35 capped off by five points from Alex Steen, a dunk and a three-pointer, and a Noah Louis layup.
 
Florida Southern and North Georgia would battle for the final seven minutes of the half where the Mocs captured their largest lead of the half of five, 38-33, with 2:28 to go before the two teams settled for a 40-40 halftime score.
 
The Mocs opened the scoring in the second half on a slip dunk by Alex Steen from Dominick Denny, 42-40. The next three minutes saw the game go back and forth before Frank Champion pushed the Nighthawks up by five, 51-46 with 16:53 to play.
 
North Georgia pushed to double-digits but Florida Southern erased the deficit to a seven-point game off Erickson Bans three free throws, 60-53.
 
The Nighthawks would push to a 20-point game over six minutes, 82-62. The Mocs and Nighthawks would trade buckets at each end of the floor as North Georgia remained ahead by double-digits. After Florida Southern subbed in Luke Reilly and Sam Walters with 1:23 on the clock, Florida Southern outscored North Georgia 5-2 down the stretch thanks to a second chance jumper by Steen and the final bucket of the night, a three-pointer from Walters to bring the game to its' final, 95-83.
 
No. 25 Florida Southern will refocus as the Moccasins open Sunshine State Conference play Wednesday, Nov. 29 against the University of Tampa (3-3) at 7:30 p.m. Florida Southern College is hosting a Toys for Tots drive where anyone that brings an unwrapped toy to the game, receives free admission. During halftime of the game, there will be a Teddy Bear toss on the court for those who bring a bear to the game to donate as well!
 
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