South Regional Tournament Site

MOCS FALL IN REGIONAL OPENER

LAKELAND - Eighth-seeded Ouachita Baptist got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Memo Rodridguez and upset the host school and top seeded team, Florida Southern 74-69 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament played Saturday in Lakeland.

Ouachita Baptist, 20-9, advances to the semifinals Sunday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of the #4 North Alabama/#5 Christian Brothers game. Florida Southern finishes its season at 24-9.

Florida Southern went scoreless for the first 5:28 falling behind 9-0 but recovered to lead 30-29 at intermission. The Moccasins opened the second half with a 7-2 run to take a 37-33 lead at 16:20, but Antonio Benjamin nailed a three point shot and Ed Keyes added a dunk as the Tigers grabbed the lead  for good.

Antonio Benjamin and Daniel Maddox each pumped in 15 for the Tigers while Rodriguez and Jaranimo Marks each grabbed 10 rebounds as Ouachita Baptist out-rebounded Florida Southern 48-35.

Florida Southern was led by Rion Rayfield's 22 points, 21 coming from the three-point arc. Braxton Williams and Brandon Jenkins contributed 15 and 13, respectively.

SMITH'S BUZZER BEATER TIP-IN LIFTS MOCS TO SSC TITLE

Tampa (3/09/08) - Zach Smith's tip-in at the buzzer lifted Florida Southern an 83-81 overtime victory over Tampa in the championship game of the Wendy's Sunshine State Conference Tournament. The title is the Moccasins' 18th SSC Tournament Title in 22 appearances in the championship game. (Championship celebration photos)

Florida Southern, 24-8, now awaits word about the NCAA South Regional Tournament to be played March 15-16-18. Tournament host sites and pairings will be announced Sunday evening (see above link).

The Moccasins led by as many as 15 points in the second half (49-34 with 16:55 to play) before Tampa began to chip away at the lead cutting it to 61-52 with 8:35 left in regulation. The Spartans, 20-8, then went on a 10-0 run to take a 62-61 lead on a Chris Evans jumper at the 3:20 mark. Seven lead changes and five tied scores later, Tampa tied the game with a free-throw by Rashad Callaway with 15 seconds on the front end of a two-shot foul. His second shot was no good, with Will Graham grabbing the rebound for the Mocs. A layup attempt by Brandon Jenkins with 1 second left could not find its mark and the game went into overtime.

In the extra period, Tampa led by two points three times before Smith tied the game with a pair of free throws at 1:29. Following a steal by Smith, Jenkins nailed a three-pointer with :46 left and 26 seconds later added a back-end of a two shot foul to put the Mocs ahead by four, 80-76. Following a basket by Johnathan Ball for Tampa and another made free throw by Jenkins, the Mocs led 81-78 with 13 seconds left. Callaway then tied it for Tampa on a three-pointer with seven seconds left. The Mocs worked the ball up the court and Rion Rayfield missed on a jumper with one second to go. Smith tapped the ball in at the buzzer lifting the Moccasins to the win.

Will Graham and Rob Eldridge each pumped in 17 to lead Florida Southern while Smith added 11 and Braxton Williams and Rayfield each contributed 10 points. Smith, who was 7-for-11 at the free throw line, pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds for the Moccasins.

Tampa got 27 and 26 points, respectively by Callaway and Jeremty Black with Black pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds. The duo combined to make 21 of Tampa's 30 made field goals in the game.

Williams was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player with 49 points in the three tournament games and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Rob Eldridge and Will Graham, along with Jeremy Black and Rashad Callaway and Chris Hall from Lynn.

MOCS DOWN LYNN 76-62 TO ADVANCE
TO FACE TAMPA IN SSC TOURNAMENT TITLE TILT

TAMPA (3/8/08) - Braxton Williams scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures as top-seeded Florida Southern downed Lynn, 76-62, in the semi-finals of the Wendy's Sunshine State Conference Tournament played Saturday at the Bob Martinez Sports Center in the campus of the University of Tampa.

The Moccasins (23-8) advance to face the host Spartans (20-7) in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on FSN Florida. Tampa earned its spot in the title game by downing Saint Leo, 75-55, in the tournment's other semi-final game.

Sunday's match-up marks the ninth time the two schools have met in the championship game with the Moccasins taking five of the previous eight, but Tampa has downed the Mocs in the last two meetings, the last a 62-45 win by the Spartans in 2002. Florida Southern will be gunning for its 18th tournament championship. The Mocs have also placed as tournament runners-up for times.

In Saturday's game, Williams scored nine of his game-high 17 points in the second half as the Mocs held off a Lynn rally in the second period.

Florida Southern had staked a 36-27 lead at intermission as Cameron Wooten scored all of his 10 points in the opening stanza. Lynn (16-13) had taken a 20-14 lead on a jumper by Hans Schur with 8:03 left in the first period. The Mocs then closed out the half on a 22-7 run behind eight points, including two three-pointers from Wooten.

The Mocs opened the lead to 21 points, 51-30, at the 13:456 mark in the second half on a layup by Brandon Jenkins. The Knights held and cut the lead to nine, 64-55, with 7:23 to go, but FSC answered with a 12-7 run the rest of the way.

In addition to Williams and Wooten, Rion Rayfield and Rob Eldridge each had 10 points for the Mocs. In all, seven players scored nine or more points for FSC with Jenkins, Will Graham, and Andrei Grant each contributing nine points.

DARNER, THREE MOCS EARN ALL-SSC HONORS

The success of the history-making Moccasin basketball season is reflected in the All-Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Team announced Thursday.  Head coach Linc Darner, who has taken his team from an 8-20 record a year ago to a 22-8 mark this season, is the SSC Men's Coach of the Year.  Already the SSC regular season champion, FSC will try to add the SSC Tournament championship to its accomplishments this weekend.  The Moccasins are the first team in SSC history to go from 20 losses to 20 wins in successive seasons and the first team in SSC history to go from last place to first place in successive seasons.  Darner is the first FSC men's coach to win the SSC honor since Gordon Gibbons received the award in 1999.

Rob Eldridge, Rion Rayfield and Brandon Jenkins have played key roles in the Moccasins' success this season and they were rewarded for their efforts.  Eldridge, the Mocs' leading scorer (15.1), is a first-team All-SSC selection.  Rayfield, a redshirt freshman who had to miss most of last season due to illness, is second on the team in scoring (13.7), leads the team in three-pointers (83) and is the SSC Men's Freshman of the Year.  Jenkins, a true freshman, averages 11.6 points off the bench, is second on the team in three-pointers (81) and joins Rayfield on the SSC All-Freshman Team.  Rayfield becomes the fourth Moccasin to earn SSC Freshman of the Year honors, following Innocent Kere in 1998, Ronnie Clark in 2000 and Hurley Dunbar in 2004.

Joining Eldridge on the first-team All-SSC squad are Tampa's Jeremy Black, who is SSC Men's Player of the Year, Florida Tech's Carl McNally, Eckerd's Damone Morris and Rollns' Jonny Reibel.

Tampa's Johnathan Ball is SSC Men's Defensive Player of the Year.

Second-team All-SSC selections are Nova Southeastern's Tim Coenraad, Tampa's Chris Evans, Saint Leo's Jordan Prais, Lynn's Hans Schur and Florida Tech's Justin Sedlak.

Joining Rayfield and Jenkins on the SSC All-Freshman Team are Tampa's Rashad Callaway, Lynn's Chris Hall and Rollins' Jeremy Sharpe and Nick Wolf. 

MOCS ADVANCE TO SSC SEMIFINALS WITH 78-58 WIN OVER NOVA

LAKELAND - Having already made history themselves with their worst to first turnaround, the Moccasins were not about to let Nova Southeastern spoil their amazing season with some more history.  No number eight seed had ever beaten a number one seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament and the top-seeded Mocs made sure that record stayed intact with a 78-58 win over the eighth-seeded Sharks Tuesday night in the first round of the SSC Tournament at Jenkins Field House.

The win moves the Moccasins (22-8) into Saturday's semifinals at noon in Tampa against Lynn, a 106-104 double overtime winner over Florida Tech.  The other semifinal at 2:30 p.m. matches Tampa, an 80-76 overtime winner over Rollins, against Saint Leo, a 65-62 upset winner over #2 seed Eckerd.  The championship game is Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be televised by Sun Sports.

Against Nova Southeastern, the Moccasins clamped a vise-like defense on the Sharks in the first half and raced out to a 40-16 lead at halftime.  Leading 20-11 with 8:26 left in the first half, the Moccasins held the Sharks scoreless for the next five minutes and built the lead to 32-11.  The Sharks missed six shots from the field, missed four free throws and committed three turnovers in that five-minute span.

Will Graham's basket to start the second half gave FSC its biggest lead of the night, 42-16.  With the Mocs' lead at 47-27, an 18-5 run by the Sharks trimmed the margin to 52-45 with 8:08 remaining.  Braxton Williams sank a pair of free throws at the 6:54 mark, though, to get the lead back to double digits and that's where it stayed the rest of the game.

Williams enjoyed one of his best games of the season, leading the Mocs with 22 points.  He was 8-9 from the free throw line and delivered a team-high six assists.  Rob Eldridge finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Rion Rayfield added 11 points.  Kevin Chester was the only Nova player in double figures with 26 points.  Sharks' scoring leader Tim Coenraad had just eight points, 10 below his season average. 

The Moccasins won both regular season games with Lynn - 88-70 at FSC and 75-63 at Lynn.

Ticket prices for the games at Tampa are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students with ID.  

BIG SECOND HALF BY TAMPA SENDS FLORIDA SOUTHERN TO DEFEAT IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE

LAKELAND - A big second half by Chris Evans fueled a big second half by the Spartans as Tampa spoiled Florida Southern's regular season finale by handing the Moccasins a 78-72 loss. It was only the second home loss of the year for the Mocs, who had already clinched the Sunshine State Conference regular season title in their previous game with a win over Rollins.

Wednesday night's game was still a big one for both teams though. With the NCAA South Region poll announced earlier in the day, Florida Southern (21-8, 12-4) knew it was second in the region behind North Alabama. Knowing the Lions had already won their final regular season game on Tuesday, the Moccasins were trying to stay close in the race for the top seed and the right to host the regional tournament.

Tampa (17-7, 10-5) on the other hand had fallen from #1 in the regional rankings to #4 after three straight losses and was just trying to keep from dropping into a more precarious position. The Spartans were also trying to secure a first-round home game in the SSC Tournament, and their win on Wednesday assured them of doing that.

The teams traded points for the first six minutes of the game, with a second-chance basket by Andrei Grant giving the Moccasins a 13-12 lead. Brandon Jenkins then hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Mocs up 19-14, and after a Chris King basket at the other end, Rob Eldridge hit a three for a 22-16 Moccasin advantage. Their lead was at least five the remainder of the half, went to 10 at one point, and finally settled at eight (40-32) by halftime.

Evans, who scored just five points in the first half, had 16 in the second and got the Spartans going with an early 3-pointer. He later answered a 3-pointer by Rion Rayfield with another long-range shot that got UT within one, then gave his team a 48-47 lead on a layup with 14:24 remaining.

That 3-point shot and layup started a 17-1 run by the Spartans that gave them the lead for good. Rashad Callaway's basket with 10:14 to play put Tampa ahead 60-48, its largest lead of the night.

The Moccasins went nearly seven minutes without a basket before Braxton Williams ended the dry spell with a 3-pointer that got the deficit back to single digits. Will Graham would later hit a three to cut the gap to six, and two free throws by Rayfield with 3:18 remaining pulled FSC within 68-64.

The Spartans made just one basket in the final five minutes, but Jeremy Black's layup at the 2:07 mark also resulted in a foul and a three-point play that put Tampa up by seven, 73-66. Rayfield then connected on another 3-pointer for the Moccasins with 1:09 to play, and when the Spartans turned the ball over on the in-bounds play, Florida Southern suddenly had new life down by four.

However, a jump shot by Jenkins rolled around the rim and out with less than a minute to play and the Mocs were forced to foul twice after that, giving Tampa three more points and a 76-69 lead. Jenkins then hit a 3-point shot with 10 seconds left, getting FSC again within four points, but Johnathan Ball closed out the game for UT with two free throws.

All five Tampa starters scored in double figures, led by Evans' 21 point, 11-rebound performance. Callaway, who hit the winning shot late in the first meeting between the two teams in January, scored 16, while Ball scored 14. Callaway was five-for-six from the floor in the second half, helping the Spartans shoot 54 percent in that period, while the Moccasins shot just 30 percent.

The Moccasins got 19 points apiece from Eldridge and Rayfield, while Jenkins scored 11 and Graham added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Rayfield converted five 3-pointers and was four-for-four from the line.

With 12 of them on Wednesday, Florida Southern became just the third team in SSC history to make over 300 three-point field goals in a season. The Moccasins' total now stands at 302, which is 19 shy of the league record set by Rollins last year.

Florida Southern will host a first-round game in the upcoming SSC Tournament, which begins Tuesday night. That game will be played at 7:00 against either Saint Leo or Nova Southeastern. The semi-finals and championship game will be hosted by the University of Tampa on March 8-9.