LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College rolled past the visiting Saint Leo University Saturday night to close out the regular season home portion of the 2024-25 schedule 108-83 at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.
Before the game, Florida Southern honored and recognized five seniors,
Mika Richardson, a Moccette, and four cheerleaders,
Kylee Dodge,
Eunique Ford,
Asha Miguel, and
Brooke Weaver. Following the celebration of the five female student-athletes, the Mocs recognized
Trey Jones,
Dominick Denny, and
Jadin Booth for their contributions to the program, as they were honored last year, and closed with recognizing
Kristians Feierbergs,
Peyton Gerald, and
Joe Moon IV. After all the players were completed and before the game tipped off, the Moccasins celebrated
Al Green, who announced his retirement set for after the completion of the academic year.
"Great win on senior night!" Head Coach
Mike Donnelly stated. "Tonight was one of the most complete games we have played all year. Our guys were locked in for 40 minutes on both sides of the ball, which was fun to watch."
Florida Southern moves to 21-7 overall and 12-6 in league play while heading to the last two games of the season. The Mocs are tied for second with Lynn, but have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Fighting Knights and locked up an appearance in the eight-team tournament in March.
The win Saturday also halved the season series with the Lions thanks to a big night on senior night from
Peyton Gerald. Gerald, a graduating senior from Charlotte, N.C. had his way with the Lions going for a game-high 32 points on 14-of-20 shooting. He was nearly perfect from beyond the arc adding a 4-for-5 night downtown. Gerald finished the game with nine rebounds, two assists and one block.
Alex Steen finished second on the team with 21 points where the double-double machine produced his 13
th of the season with 16 boards. Steen closed his 26 minutes of action on 10-of-19 shooting with two blocks, one steal, and one assist.
Jadin Booth was the only other Moc in double-figures with 20 points where he dished out a game-high seven assists, tying with
Dominick Denny.
Kristians Feierbergs tallied nine points, two ahead of
Joe Moon IV's seven. Six other Mocs all registered a point in the win:
Trey Jones (5),
Amare Miller (4),
Hugo Mattioli (3),
Donovan Smith (3),
Dominick Denny (2), and
Riley Buccino (2).
Jaylan McElroy and Brady Corso led the charge for Saint Leo (10-16, 5-13 SSC) with 19 points with Tae Wilson following at 17.
Saint Leo would see early production where it took 13 seconds to gain the lead on a Tae Wilson layup. The Lions would push to an early four-point lead, 13-9, but the Moccasins turned up the tempo.
Kristians Feierbergs' three brought the game within one, 13-12 before
Jadin Booth tied it and then gave Florida Southern the lead, a lead which the Mocs would never relinquish. Booth's free throws pushed it to 13-13 and 14-13 with 16:18 to play in the first half. Florida Southern would run away to a 20-point advantage at the halftime break, 59-39.
Both the Mocs and Lions would struggle out of the gate in the second half as it took nearly three minutes for either team to score. Saint Leo scored first in the half but Florida Southern kept the pressure on and sprinted out to a 30-point lead, 80-50, with 12:09 to play thanks to a
Peyton Gerald tip-in layup.
Saint Leo would attempt to chip away at the lead but Florida Southern remained persistent and rolled to a 108-83.
The Moccasins are next in action Wednesday, Feb. 26 as Florida Southern makes a trip up I-4 to Rollins College at the Harold & Ted Alfond Sports Center. Tip-off is expected for 7:30 p.m.
