Men's Basketball Falls to Embry-Riddle in SSC Quarterfinals

LAKELAND, Fla. – Third-seeded Florida Southern College men's basketball fell in the Sunshine State Conference quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 96-88 at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House Tuesday night.

"Very disappointing loss tonight," Head Coach Mike Donnelly stated. "Our goal was to obviously to make a deep run in the SSC tournament, but we just couldn't complete the comeback to advance. I believe we have more basketball in us, so hopefully we will be one of the teams selected to play in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. We will just need to wait and see how everything plays out this week across the region."
 
The Moccasins move to 19-9 overall while the Eagles are 18-10 after the win. Florida Southern will await the NCAA Division II selection show slated for March 5 at 11 p.m. (ET) on www.ncaa.com.
 
Redshirt sophomore Jadin Booth scored a team-high 22 points, going 13-for-13 from the free throw line while adding seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals to his night. Redshirt senior E.J. Dambreville finished the night second on the team in scoring with 21 points and as the leader in rebounding with seven.
 
Freshman Alex Steen added 14 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in 29 strong minutes in the post against the Eagles' Chris Murray. Redshirt sophomore Luke Anderson chipped in 13 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Mocs.
 
Embry-Riddle saw Malcolm Whitlow go off for 30 points on 7-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc while adding seven free throws and a lone layup. Dru Nickson added 19 points while Jon Alessandro tallied 15. Chris Murray finished with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Florida Southern got on the board first with a quick jumper from Luke Anderson followed by the Eagles three by Malcolm Whitlow. After Jadin Booth's jumper made it 4-3, the Eagles returned points to claim a 5-4 lead, one they would never relinquish.
 
The Moccasins battled and hung around the Eagles but ERAU eventually pulled away for a 20-point lead, with a minute to play before heading into the break up 62-43.
 
Whitlow started the second half with a three before Florida Southern whittled away at the deficit and made huge defensive stops to get within three, 76-73, thanks to a fastbreak Alex Steen dunk. Embry-Riddle would gain a little momentum to run out to an eight-point lead, 83-75, but the Mocs came storming back and cut it to three on a Connor Raines three and Alex Steen layup.
 
Trying to stay close, the Mocs sent the Eagles to the free throw line while trying to chip away at the score, but Embry-Riddle was able to overcome the low-scoring second half and claimed the 96-88 win.
 
Florida Southern awaits the NCAA selection show, while the Eagles turn their attention to Rollins on Thursday in the Semifinals of the tournament in Daytona Beach. For more information on the SSC Men's Basketball tournament, visit www.sunshinestateconference.com, and for all news related to Florida Southern men's basketball visit www.fscmocs.com and check us on social at @FSC_MBB.
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