NCAA South Region Semifinal #1: #18 Florida Southern vs #3 Alabama Huntsville

The stage is set for the first of two NCAA South Region semifinals hosted at the Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale as No. 18 Florida Southern is set to face No. 3 Alabama Huntsville Sunday night.
 
In the first game of action at the regional, the No. 3 seed 18^th-ranked Florida Southern defeated the No. 6 seed Montevallo 86-83. Following the first game, the No. 2 seed 3^rd-ranked Alabama Huntsville topped Tampa 99-88. The top seed and host No. 2 Nova Southeastern defeated No. 8 Savannah State 76-64 before No. 5 Lynn defeated No. 4 13^th-ranked Valdosta State, 86-74
 
The Moccasins of Florida Southern College will take on the Chargers of the University of Alabama in Huntsville at 5 p.m. before the Sharks of Nova Southeastern will square off with the Fighting Knights of Lynn at 7:30 p.m.
 
Tournament Information
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Campus: Nova Southeastern University
Gymnasium: Rick Case Arena
Tournament Page - https://nsusharks.com/sports/2025/3/10/ncaa-south-region-tournament.aspx
Ticket Information - https://nsusharks.com/sports/2024/3/11/ncaa-dii-south-regional-tournament-ticketing.aspx
Bracket - https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-men/d2/2025

Florida Southern (26-8) averages 92.8 points per game behind the team's scoring leader Jadin Booth. Booth, a native of Omaha, Neb., averages 21.2 points per game to lead the contingent of scorers. Booth holds a slight edge in total assists on the year with 183 to Dominick Denny's 170.  Alex Steen, the back-to-back Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year, averages 18.2 points per game and a team-leading 10.5 rebounds per game. Peyton Gerald is third on the team at 14.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game while Denny is fourth on the team in scoring average at 11.7.
 
Steen and Peyton Gerald are the ultimate tag-team duo in rim protectors, with 85 and 72 blocks, respectively, leading a team that averages 6.97 blocks per game.
 
No. 3 UAH (31-1) averages 88.3 points per game and holds opponents to 73.4 ppg while entering Sunday's game with a 31-game win streak after falling 105-104 in overtime to Nova Southeastern to start the game. Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, Tommy Murr, and first-year head coach and GSC Coach of the Year, Mick Hedgepeth have the Chargers rolling. Murr leads a group of five in double-digit averages at 21.2 ppg with Blake Campbell (16.7), Luke Burnett (14.8), Daniel Saylor (13.1), and Matt Thurman (10.0) joining in that category. Saylor, a 6-foot-11 forward from Pleasant View, Tenn., leads the Chargers in rebound with 9.7 boards per game and has a team-best 82 blocks through 32 games. UAH as a team has 128 total blocks with Saylor leading the way.
 
Quarterfinal Summaries:
(3) Florida Southern 86, (6) Montevallo 83
Florida Southern held on to defeat Montevallo in the program's second ever meeting. The Moccasins held an 11-point lead with 2:41 to play but the Falcons never gave in and rallied to get within two before the last second three fell off the mark. The Falcons saw Derek Moore lead all scorers with 23 points ahead of his teammate Brandon Fussell (21). The Mocs saw five players score in double-digits led by Jadin Booth (19). Joe Moon IV (17), Peyton Gerald (15), Kristians Feierbergs (14), and Dominick Denny (12) joined in double-figures.
 
#2 UAH 99, #7 Tampa 88
UAH held a 48-32 lead in the first and held the Tampa 56-51 second half for the 99-88 win. Blake Campbell went off for a game-high 30 points in the win where Tommy Murr was second with 23 points ahead of Matt Thurman (16) and Daniel Saylor (15). Saylor and Murr both finished with double doubles as Saylor hauled in 12 rebounds and Murr dished out 10 assists. Trey Lane led Tampa in the season finale with 24 points while Bryan Williams (16), Ryan Blount (15), and Tyson Leitao (14) followed suit.
 
Series History:
Sunday's meeting will be the fourth between the two programs and the second in NCAA Tournament play. Florida Southern is 2-1 against Alabama Huntsville, which features a 90-88 win over the Chargers in the 2013 NCAA South Region Championship game where the Mocs advanced to the Elite Eight.
 
In the three meetings, Florida Southern averages 89.33 points per game as UAH averages 78.67 points per game. The Moccasins won the first game in the series 96-61 in 1991 before the Chargers evened the series at 1-1 with an 87-82 win in 2010.
  
The winners of the two semifinals are headed to the NCAA South Region Championship slated for Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. inside Rick Case Arena.