Mocs Shoot Past #13 West Georgia to Advance to the Regional Championship

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida Southern College men's basketball extended its season with an upset of the second seed and No. 13 University of West Georgia Sunday night at Rick Case Arena to advance to the South Region Championship, the NCAA Sweet 16.

"What a great win for our program," head coach Mike Donnelly stated. "Can't say enough about our competitiveness tonight. One more to go." 
 
The third seeded Moccasins (23-9) defeated the second seeded Wolves (27-6) 93-87 in overtime after fighting all the way to the final buzzer. Florida Southern moves to 7-2 all-time against West Georgia including a perfect 5-0 in postseason play.
 
Florida Southern was led by Akol Arop who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Anderson and Dominick Denny each scored 19 points while Denny finished with seven rebounds and seven assists. Anderson tied with Alex Steen for eight rebounds.
 
Erickson Bans chipped in 15 points off the bench, after stepping in and playing 39:26 minutes. Steen finished with nine points while Joe Moon IV had seven.
 
West Georgia held a 42-40 lead at the break before the Mocs shot 50-percent from the field in the second half to edge the Wolves 41-39 in the second half. Florida Southern closed the game with 12 points in the overtime period on 50-percent shooting. The Mocs finished the game going 23-for-34 from the free throw line which provided the edge to get past the Wolves who went 14-for-18 from the charity stripe.
 
The Wolves' Gulf South Conference Player of the Year Zawdie Jackson had a game-high 27 points but proved just short against the Mocs. Marlon Smith added 22 points, making four three-pointers, while Camron Donatlan finished with 13 points in the full 45 minutes of action.  
 
Midway through the first, West Georgia claimed a nine-point lead 21-12, but Florida Southern battled back to get within one, 28-27 with 8:21 to play. Back-to-back made shots for the Mocs by Dominick Denny and Akol Arop gave FSC its first lead of the game, 39-38, with 3:57 to play. The short-lived lead saw the Wolves go into the break up by two after Luke Anderson's free throw, 42-40.
 
The first seven minutes of the second half saw lead changes before West Georgia jumped out to a four-point lead, 60-56, and then by eight with 8:44 to go (69-61). The Mocs again battled and cut the lead to two (75-73) and then one (78-77) with 2:45 to go in regulation. Florida Southern would go 4-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch but proved enough as Erickson Bans' free throw with 4-seconds left tied it at 81. With fouls to give, the Mocs' Bans quickly fouled to stop the Wolves progress before the last chance jumper from Marlon Smith fell off the iron as the buzzer found.
 
Like the final two minutes of the game, Florida Southern would make two free throws to take the two point lead. After a missed Wolves shot, Dominick Denny came up with it and found Akol Arop for a quick layup and pushed the lead to four (85-81).
 
West Georgia answered on the other end with a three (85-84) but Luke Anderson drained a fade away on the baseline for the 87-84 lead. Arop sank two free throws with 1:37 to go for a five-point lead. The Wolves' Zawdie Jackson converted an and-one opportunity to bring it to two, 89-87, but after a timeout Bans found Steen for a layup and the four-point lead (91-87).
 
Arop would score the last two points of the game, sinking two clutch free throws with 30-seconds to play bringing the game to its final 93-87. The Wolves had six missed scoring opportunities in the final 35-seconds but unable to convert as the Moccasins defeated the Wolves, 93-87.  
 
Florida Southern advances to the regional championship for the first time since the 2014-15 season when the Mocs went on to win the national championship. The regional championship will take place Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. back in Ft. Lauderdale inside Rick Case Arena. The Mocs will battle top-seeded No. 1 Nova Southeastern.
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