ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Florida Southern College men's basketball rallied in the second half to remain undefeated through three games in Sunshine State Conference play with an 82-72 road win at Eckerd Saturday evening. The Moccasins overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to earn the 10-point victory inside the McArthur Center.
"Great win," Head Coach
Mike Donnelly exclaimed. "Eckerd is a tough team. Big time effort defensively by us especially in the second half. We had a lot of different guys step up today at both ends of the floor, and that is why we were able to grind out a huge road win."
Florida Southern (7-3, 3-0 Sunshine State Conference) saw four players score in double-figures while
Luke Anderson paced the team in rebounding with a game-high 16 boards, edging Eckerd's (6-3, 1-2 Sunshine State Conference) Timothy Thompson's 13 rebounds.
The Moccasins were led offensively by
Erickson Bans with 16 points while a trio of Mocs tallied 15 points in
Akol Arop,
Alex Steen, and
Dominick Denny.
The Tritons were led by George Kimble with a game-high 27 points while Isaiah Placide and Carr Thiam each chipped in 12 and 11, respectively.
A tightly contested first half saw both teams earn leads before Eckerd claimed a seven point lead with 15:57 to play. The Mocs would rally back and claimed a three-point lead, 35-32 with 2:59 to play. The Tritons would own the final three minutes and take the seven point advantage into half, 44-37.
Dominick Denny would help propel the come back in the second half as the Mocs rallied to tie the game at 51, off two Denny free throws with 13:16 to play. Over the next seven minutes, Florida Southern would claim momentum and push out to its largest lead, 69-56, off an old fashion and-one play by
Akol Arop.
Eckerd would chip away and cut it to seven, the closest the Tritons would get as the Mocs carried on for the 10-point road win.
Florida Southern returns home on Dec. 16 to host the Century Retail Christmas Classic. Barry and Clayton State will tip first at 5 p.m. before the Mocs take on the University of Findlay at 7:30 p.m. The second day of the classic features Barry and Findlay at 5 p.m. before Florida Southern and Clayton State at 7:30 p.m.
