#18 Mocs Top the Fighting Knights Saturday Evening

LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 18 Florida Southern men's basketball topped Lynn 88-75 Saturday evening at the Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins erased a two point halftime deficit to complete the season sweep of the Fighting Knights after a 48-33 second half.
 
"Good bounce back," head coach Mike Donnelly commented. "We didn't shoot the ball great, but we were able to find different ways to score tonight and did a good job sharing the ball. However, our defensive effort won us the game. Our defensive intensity and execution was really good and we did a good job on the glass as well."
 
Florida Southern moved to 19-5 overall and earned its 10th conference win through 14 games with the win. Peyton Gerald narrowly topped his teammate Alex Steen for the game-high scoring title with 22 to 20 points. Gerald scored 22 points on a 9-for-18 night from the field, including a pair of threes and a 2-for-2 mark from the free-throw line. Gerald added nine rebounds to finish just shy of a double-double, while Steen notched another double-double with a career-high 18 rebounds.
 
Dominick Denny completed the double-digit scoring for the Mocs with 18 points in 28 minutes. Joe Moon IV and Kristians Feierbergs each tallied eight points with Jadin Booth (6), Amare Miller (4), and Hugo Mattioli (2) closing the book of scoring. Booth dished out a game-high 12 assists as Florida Southern finished with 23 assists on the night.
 
As a unit, eight players hauled in a rebound as the team battle went to Florida Southern 54-48, with 38 defensive boards. The Moccasins registered 10 blocks with three from Gerald, and two from each Steen, Feierbergs, and Miller. Florida Southern also picked up eight steals on the night with Booth leading the way with three.
 
Lynn falls to 14-7 overall and 9-6 in league play after the loss, despite five players scoring in double-figures. Carson Smith paced the team with 17 points as John Roland added 15, Osei Price 12, Jordan Wilkins 12, and Leo Beath 10. Sveiin Birgisson (4), Austin Vick (2), and Noah Kattan (2) registered points for the Fighting Knights.
 
Roland and Beath finished the game with double-doubles with double-digit rebounds as Beath won that battle 14 to 11.
 
Florida Southern looked to bounce back from its Wednesday loss quickly as the Moccasins raced out to a 9-0 start. Dominick Denny scored the game's first points, an and-one for a 3-0 lead. From there, Jadin Booth had a jumper in the paint, Denny had a layup, and Joe Moon IV had a layup, forcing a Lynn timeout.
 
The Fighting Knights battled and tied it at 15 before another Mocs' run saw the lead go to seven, 26-19 capped by a Moon three-pointer with 9:55 to play. Lynn would fight and close the gap to just two points with just under two minutes to play (40-38) before a free throw and a last-second corner three handed the Fighting Knights a two-point halftime lead, 42-40.
 
Lynn scored the first two points of the final half but Florida Southern's pressure and tempo played into favor for the home team as the Mocs flipped the lead and grabbed a five-point advantage, 51-46. The Fighting Knights would rally once again and tie it at 57, but once the Moccasins grabbed the lead on Kristians Feierbergs assist to Alex Steen's dunk at the 12:39 mark, Florida Southern never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game.
 
The Mocs would take the two-point lead, 59-57, and extend it to double-digits, 82-72, with 3:56 to play. Lynn got within nine on a three-pointer from John Roland (2:21, 84-75) but the Mocs would score the game's final four points at the free throw line as Gerald and Denny each went 2-for-2 down the stretch.
 
No. 18 Florida Southern turns its attention to the Eagles of Embry-Riddle (15-7, 9-5 SSC) on Wednesday, Feb. 12 as the Moccasins travel to Daytona Beach for a 7:30 p.m. expected tip.
  Read Full Article