WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It took an extra 20 minutes, four overtimes, to decide the winner Saturday afternoon in Rubin Arena with the Florida Southern men's basketball team coming out on top 117-110 over Palm Beach Atlantic in the programs' first four-overtime game and the second most points in an overtime game.
"That was an unbelievable college basketball game, and a fantastic win for us," head coach
Mike Donnelly exclaimed. "I am really proud of our guys. PBA is a very good team and plays exceptionally well at home, and we were able to hang in there and grind out a huge win!"
Three players notched career-highs to pace Florida Southern (15-5, 9-2 SSC) in the win over Palm Beach Atlantic (12-7, 6-5 SSC) to complete the season sweep of the Sailfish. The Moccasins saw
Luke Anderson drop a career-high double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds, his eighth career double-double. The Lakeland, Fla. native went 10-for-19 from the field with four threes and a 7-for-9 night from the free throw line.
Right behind Anderson was
Dominick Denny, who scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field. The Coral Springs, Fla. native had three triples and a perfect 5-for-5 night at the free throw line, to tie for the team lead in which the Mocs went 27-for-32 at the line;
Connor Raines and
Erickson Bans both went perfect for the night, 6-for-6 and 5-for-5, respectively.
Akol Arop too dropped a career-high with his second straight 20-point game. The Omaha, Neb. native bested his career-high of 20 points with 26 on the road against the Sailfish, finishing the night with his fourth double-double of the season adding a team-high 14 rebounds.
Erickson Bans got the nod for the start and scored 14 points for the Mocs in 49 minutes of action while
Connor Raines chipped in eight off the bench ahead of
Donovan Smith's six while
Joe Moon IV tallied two points in the long battle.
Marcus Montalvo led Palm Beach Atlantic's scorers with 30 points while four others had double-figures.
Florida Southern held advantages in points off turnovers (27-10) and fastbreak points (22-9) but Palm Beach Atlantic tallied a 25-14 advantage in bench points.
In the marathon game, Florida Southern claimed an eight-point after a tough battle in the first half, 42-34, but Palm Beach Atlantic outscored the Mocs 40-32 in the second half to force the game into overtime. Both teams scored six points in the first overtime, nine in the second, and 13 in the third before the Mocs edged the Sailfish 15-8 in the fourth and final overtime period.
Dominick Denny's jumper at the 22-second mark at the end of regulation, put Florida Southern up five, 74-69, but Palm Beach Atlantic closed the second half on a 5-0 run with a three from Will Lee and a pair of free throws from Jamaal Walker; 74-74.
In a tight first overtime period, Florida Southern would score first on a pair of Denny free throws before the short-lived light scoring five minutes closed with a missed three-pointer by the Mocs as the buzzer sounded: 80-80.
Palm Beach Atlantic opened the scoring in the second overtime, but again, a short-lived lead saw the teams battle in the second free five minutes close with a pair of missed shots by the Sailfish before the buzzer sounded with the ball secured in
Luke Anderson's hands: 89-89.
A quick layup for Palm Beach Atlantic opened the third but the combined highest-scoring overtime period saw the teams battle back and forth once more ending with a pair of looks for the Mocs.
Akol Arop drove to the hoop and missed but
Erickson Bans grabbed the board in a desperate attempt to put the shot up but it didn't fall: 102-102.
Palm Beach Atlantic started the fourth overtime period, third in a row, with possession, but
Connor Raines would start the period off with a steal to put the Mocs on top, 104-102. The Sailfish capitalized on the next two possessions to gain a lead, but
Dominick Denny swiped a pass and raced down to finish for the tie, 106-106.
Will Lee banked in a three from the corner to give the Sailfish a 109-106 lead, but three free throws from
Connor Raines and
Luke Anderson tied things with 2:17 to play. Two empty possessions for PBA sandwiched a three-pointer by Denny left it 112-109 with a minute to play. The Sailfish would score its last point on a 1-for-2 performance at the charity stripe to get within two, 112-110, before Florida Southern converted its final five points all at the stripe; two from Anderson, one from Arop, and two from Bans to seal the game.
Marcus Montalvo had a look at a desperation three but trailing by seven, the ball would drop off the back side of the iron into Denny's hands for the final 1.4 seconds, as Florida Southern won 117-110 in four overtimes.
The Moccasins will look to rest and regain focus for a home game on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. against Eckerd College (11-8, 6-5 SSC) inside the George W. Jenkins Field House at Streamline Sale Court.
