#12 Mocs Hit Season High in Scoring With 116-91 Win Over Buccaneers

LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 12 Florida Southern College men's basketball team hit a new high in scoring this season in a 116-91 rout of Barry University on Saturday night in the George W. Jenkins Field House.
 
The Moccasins (15-2, 6-1 SSC) dominated the game from the start and got everyone involved on the court with 37 bench points. The Buccaneers (7-8, 3-4 SSC) had a slight spark to open the second half in an attempt for a comeback, but FSC kept the pressure to win by a large margin.
 
"I really liked how we attacked and converted in transition tonight," said head coach Mike Donnelly. "We need to clean some other areas up, especially at the defensive end, but that is to be expected since we still have plenty of room to grow and get better as a team."
 
Florida Southern had six Moccasins with double-digit points tonight, led by Alex Steen with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. Jadin Booth finished with 17 points, with Joe Moon IV and Peyton Gerald right behind with 16 points. Dominick Denny finished with 12 points, as did Hugo Mattioli to tie his season-high. Denny led the team in assists, with eight, as Booth had the top stat in steals with three.
 
The Mocs shot an even 50 percent from the field, and 14-of-29 from beyond the arc. Mattioli led the latter category with four 3's made. Despite some foul trouble, Florida Southern excelled in the turnover battle, 13-to-17 with 10 steals by the Mocs, leading to an incredible 38 fastbreak points. The Buccaneers shot 41 percent from the field and just 26 percent from deep, with six made 3-pointers. Both teams finished with 48 rebounds, though Barry had the advantage in offensive boards and second-chance points.  
 
Barry was led by Michale Bradley III and Jimel Lane, each with 15 points. Other double-digit scorers included Gabe Hernandez, Sami Elkamel, Reggie Reinhardt and Pete Moe II. The Buccaneers had 36 bench points and 44 of their points were in the paint, winning the offensive board category. Lane finished with a double-double with his 10 boards, as did Moe II, matching the 10 rebounds.
 
Florida Southern had an exciting start to the game after a Denny jumper and an emphatic poster dunk by Gerald on the fast break. Barry had free throws shortly after, but the Mocs climbed to a 9-1 lead in the first three minutes of action. By the halfway point of the first half, the Mocs had a 15-point lead and did not let up, leading as much as 20 points at the final first-half media timeout, 49-29. The Mocs went into halftime with a comfortable 55-39 lead after a pair of Denny free throws.
 
The second half opened with Barry lowering its deficit to 11 points, but the Mocs caught a hot streak after the first media timeout, again leading by almost 20, 73-54, with 14 minutes remaining. Mattioli continued to nail his shots from beyond the arc, as the Mocs subbed in many for some final-minute action. Luke Reilly had a new career-best six points off two 3-pointers, and Raphael Tawil scored his first collegiate points with a second-chance tip-in layup. All 13 players who entered the game for the Mocs finished with points, including Trey Jones (3p), Riley Buccino (2p), Ameer Ramadan (5p), Donovan Smith (3p), and Amare Miller (4p). The Mocs finished with the Tawil layup to win the game 116-91.
 
The Mocs will hit the road to face No. 1 Nova Southeastern University on Wednesday, Jan. 15, set for a 7:30 p.m. start at the Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale.
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