#20 Mocs Handle the Tars to Bounce Back to Win Column

LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 20 Florida Southern men's basketball returned to the win column with a decisive 98-82 win over Rollins Wednesday inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.

"Feels good to bounce back and get a big win tonight," said head coach Mike Donnelly. "We weren't perfect but I was pleased with our effort and intensity for the most part. I know we can keep getting better so we just need to continue to work every single day."
 
The Moccasins bounced back from a two-game skid to move to 16-4 overall and 7-3 in league action while the Tars fall to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in Sunshine State Conference play.
 
Alex Steen paced Florida Southern with 21 points in 28 minutes while hauling five rebounds. Steen added four blocks and one steal on the night against Rollins.
 
Peyton Gerald, Dominick Denny, and Jadin Booth all tallied double-digits with Gerald at 15 points, Denny at 14, and Booth with 13. The Mocs hauled in 42 rebounds, where Gerald paced the team with nine, ahead of Steen and Booth's five. Denny finished the night with seven assists as Booth edged him with a team-high eight.
 
Joe Moon IV and Kristians Feierbergs finished just outside double-digits at eight points a piece.
 
Sergey Grishaev dropped 30 points on 13-for-19 shooting and 3-for-4 night from beyond the arc. He tallied 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Behind Grishaev, Beau Frericks and Emilis Butkus each tallied 19 points in the loss.
 
After an opening alley-oop from Dominick Denny to Alex Steen, Rollins claimed its only lead of one point, 3-2, on a first-possession three from Sergey Grishaev. After that, Florida Southern pushed the tempo and quickly went up by 10, 13-3, capped by a Jadin Booth three-pointer.
 
The Moccasins would continue to extend their lead to a 14-point advantage on a tip-in-layup by Donovan Smith at the 5:41 mark, 38-24. Peyton Gerald scored the final buckets for Southern in the opening half with a three with 1:01 to go, 49-34, and a layup with 22 seconds left, as the Mocs headed into the break up 51-36.
 
Florida Southern ran out to a 20-point lead with 15:25 to play on a pair of Alex Steen free throws, 66-46, before cruising to a 29-point lead with 6:16 to play, also on a Steen free throw. The game came to a close with the Mocs ahead by 16, 98-82, despite the Tars scoring the final points of the game with 49 seconds left.
 
No. 20 Florida Southern will head on the road for a weekend trip to Florida Tech, on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. inside the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center in Melbourne, Fla.  Read Full Article