Mocs Go 2-0 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic with Win over #8 Braves

Following the end of the tournament, sophomore Alex Steen was named to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team while redshirt junior Jadin Booth was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player, the first player in the seven year history of the tournament to be named a two-time MVP. 

LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College men's basketball holds on to top the No. 8 University of North Carolina Pembroke Braves 87-82 in a tough contest at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House Sunday night in the Moccasins final game of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
 
Redshirt junior Jadin Booth paced the Moccasins (2-0) with 38 points on 12-of-20 shooting including a 6-for-9 mark from beyond the arc with an 8-for-9 free throw night. Booth's 38 game two points tied for third most in a single Small College Basketball game while his 68 points in the tournament tied the tournament record. Booth added five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block to his stat line.
 
Booth's 19 combined free throws between the games are tied all-time in Small College Basketball tournament history. Florida Southern went 27-for-31 at the free throw line, where the team's 52 free throws are also third all-time for a team in the tournament.
 
Sophomore Alex Steen posted another double-figure performance in back-to-back nights with 14 points while Akol Arop added 11 points as seven of the nine players that played for the Mocs scored in the contest. Dominick Denny had eight points, all from the free throw line, while Erickson Bans and Luke Anderson each had six with Trey Jones coming in off the bench and chipping in with four on a perfect 2-for-2 night.
 
No. 8 UNC Pembroke (1-1) saw five players score in double-digits paced by Nygell Verdier with 21 points, ahead of Elijah Cobb's 17 and Jamarvious Jones' 16. Javonte Waverly chipped in 11 points with JaJuan Carr 10.
 
Florida Southern opened the scoring Sunday night with a three from Erickson Bans after a Braves turnover before a UNCP jumper cut it to 3-2. After the quick 3-3 tie, Jadin Booth's three, the Mocs' second shot of the night, went in for the 6-3 early lead before the two teams played to a 16-16 tie through the first six minutes of action.
 
The Moccasins would drive out to another six-point advantage, 26-20, thanks to another Booth fast break jumper before eventually pushing out to eight points, 30-22, on Booth's second-chance layup with 6:08 to play in the opening frame.
 
The Braves battled back to take a quick lead with three minutes to play, 34-33, before the two teams traded points and UNCP held the advantage heading into the break, 40-39.
 
The second half started to slide into a Moc highlight reel as Booth made three three-pointers and Alex Steen a pair of free throws in the opening three minutes made it 50-42 FSC. Florida Southern would run to its largest lead of nine, 53-44, but the Braves would not go away quietly tying things at 55-55 with 12:40 remaining.
 
The Braves would hold a quick four-point lead that didn't last long as the Mocs raced to tie the game back at 61 with 10 minutes to play.
 
Florida Southern would hold UNC Pembroke in check and hold a late six-point lead late. Leading by three, with four seconds to go with the Braves in possession, a quick timeout by head coach Mike Donnelly set up the perfect defensive play as Alex Steen skied for the ball and knocked down the pass to end the game, 87-82. 
 
The Moccasins are back in action Friday, Nov. 10 at 3:30 p.m. to host Savannah State in non-conference action inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.
  Read Full Article