MOCS 1-0

[E.T.]

MOCCASINS HOLD OFF LIONS IN SEASON OPENER

LAKELAND - Newcomers Dale Parsons and Michael Simms scored 17 and 14 points respectively as Florida Southern held off Florida Memorial 74-67 in its season opener.

The Moccasins won their opening game for the seventh straight year but the night started badly. The Mocs turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions, missed their first four shots and two free throws. Simms broke the spell with a put-back off an offensive rebound at the 17:21 mark but the Moccasins still trailed the entire first half.

Florida Memorial (3-3) was shooting over 50 percent for most of the half and led 30-21 with four minutes remaining before the Moccasins came to life. Simms and Parsons scored on back-to-back possessions and Hurley Dunbar's steal on the other end started a fast break capped by a Simms dunk. That got the Mocs within three. However, a 3-pointer by the Lions Reggie Thomas just before halftime put the Lions back ahead by six, 35-29.

Florida Southern chipped away at the deficit early in the second half and took its first lead of the game at the 15:46 mark on a bucket by Andrei Grant. The lead would change hands three times in the next two minutes but Blake Williams gave the Moccasins the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play. It came during a five-minute stretch in which the Mocs held the Lions to just two points.

A 3-pointer by Simms would then spark a 14-3 run by the Moccasins over another five-minute stretch that saw them take a 59-46 lead with 5:28 remaining. He also ended that spurt with a conventional three-point play.

Florida Memorial wouldn't go away though. A second-chance bucket by Dwayne Abraham had put the Mocs ahead by 12 (66-54) with 1:23 to play but the Lions scored the next nine points in 45 seconds to pull within three. Tramaine Stevens started the run with a 3-pointer before the Moccasins committed three straight turnovers leading to six more points. The Mocs eventually pulled ahead by six before a 3-pointer by Daniel Garcia again got the Lions to within three with 13 seconds to play.

Dunbar was able to finally put the game away for the Mocs though by converting four free throws in the final 11.5 seconds and Simms had a big blocked shot during that time as well.

In addition to Parsons and Simms, Dunbar also scored in double figures for Florida Southern 12 points. Most of that came from the free throw line where he was 10-for-12. The redshirt sophomore was playing his first meaningful game in over a year after missing last season with a knee injury. He also had six rebounds, a team-high five assists and three steals.

Dwayne Abraham and Andrei Grant each had 12 rebounds for the Moccasins, who out-rebounded the Lions, 53-36. They also helped limit the Lions to 33 percent shooting in the second half.

Stevens scored 22 for Florida Memorial while Christopher McRae had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Florida Southern will be on the road this weekend at the University of Montevallo Classic in Alabama where it opens with Albany State on Friday at 3:00 central time.

[E.T.]

Published Wednesday, November 16, 2005

FSC Will Take Ugly Win

Mocs nearly undone by rash of turnovers before comeback in second half.

By Rick Brown

The Ledger

LAKELAND -- It wasn't the prettiest opening-game contest for a Florida Southern men's basketball team.

In fact, Tuesday's season-opener against Florida Memorial saw the Mocs struggle in nearly every aspect of their game.

In the end, however, what mattered was the final score. Dale Parsons led three FSC players in double figures with 19 points, as the Mocs overcame 22 turnovers to hold on for a 74-67 victory before 463 fans at Jenkins Field House.

The Mocs have now won seven straight opening-night contests, including six straight under head coach Tony Longa.

"We played a really good (13) minutes to start the second half where we held them to 10 points," said Longa. "We're a young team. We've got a lot of new guys. We have to find a way to finish games. Still, you can't simulate that in practice."

The Mocs, who had four new starters in the lineup Tuesday, seemingly were in control after Allen Gilberry's two free throws gave them a 64-51 lead with 2:33 remaining.

But then FSC went into a funk.

The Mocs missed three consecutive shots, then committed turnovers on three straight possessions in the next 1:54.

Meanwhile, the Lions (3-3) kept chipping away, eventually pulling to 66-63 on a layup by Sean Banks with 38 seconds remaining.

Parsons, however, hit three of four free throws in the next 10 seconds and FMC missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead to 1, as FSC boosted the lead back to 70-64 with 19 seconds remaining.

The Lions had one last gasp, with Daniel Garcia nailing a 3 with 13 seconds remaining. But Hurley Dunbar hit four straight free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Dunbar had 12 points, making 10-of-12 free throws. He also had a team-high five assists and added six rebounds.

Michael Simms, who along with Parsons was making his FSC debut, added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Southern's two new post players -- Dwayne Abraham (six points) and Andrei Grant (eight points) -- each pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

"It was the first regular season game so we had to get the kinks out," said the senior guard Parsons, who transferred from Weber State. "There were some times we second-guessed ourselves. But we got it done in the second half."

The Mocs were fortunate to trail just 35-29 at the half, after a nine-turnover, 33 percent fieldgoal-shooting opening half.

In the second half, FSC got its fast break going and used a 16-4 spurt to change a 41-40 deficit to a 56-45 lead with 7:22 remaining.

FSC eventually got it to 13 before FMC rallied in the final two minutes.

"We can play a lot better," said Gilberry, who had a game-high seven turnovers. "I think we were a little antsy."

FMC's Tremaine Stevens led all scorers with 22 points. Christopher McRae added 12 points and eight rebounds for FMC.

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FMC (67) -- Zolicoffer 1-4 1-2 3, McRae 5-12 2-4 12, Banks 3-6 0-0 6, Garcia 2-6 1-2 7, Auguste 0-1 00 0, Thomas 0-0 0-1 0, Stevens 9-23 1-3 22, Kidd 1-4 2-2 4, Beauford 2-5 0-0 4, Baggett 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 2-4 4-6 9, Perkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 11-20 67.

FSC (74) -- Williams 3-8 2-2 9, Abreu 2-2 1-2 5, Abraham 3-9 0-0 6, Gilberry 0-2 3-4 3, Simms 6-15 13 14, Dunbar 1-8 10-12 12, Girod 0-4 0-0 0, Parsons 6-11 3-4 17, Grant 3-4 2-4 8. Totals 24-63 22-31 74.

Halftime -- FMC 35-29. 3-point field goals -FMC 6-26 (Stevens 3-12, Garcia 2-3, Thomas 1-2, Kidd 0-1, Banks 0-2, McRae 0-3, Beauford 0-3); FSC 4-12 (Parsons 2-5, Williams 1-1, Simms 1-3, Gilberry 0-1, Dunbar 0-1, Girod 0-1). Team fouls -- FMC 26. FSC 20. Fouled out -- Banks (FMC), Beauford (FMC). Technical fouls -- FMC (team). Rebounds -- FMC 36 (McRae 8 ), FSC 53 (Abraham 12, Grant 12). Assists -- FMC 19 (McRae 7), FSC 13 (Dunbar 5). Records -- FMC 3-3, FSC 1-0. Att. -- 463.

Florida Southern's Hurley Dunbar brings the ball down the court against pressure from Florida Memorial's Anthony Kidd on Tuesday.

[E.T.]

MEN'S BASKETBALL WINS SEASON OPENER ...

The Moccasins overcame a slow start with a strong second half effort and won their season opener 74-67 over Florida Memorial Tuesday night.  It was the Mocs' seventh straight season-opening win.  

Shooting just 33.3% from the field in the first half, the Moccasins trailed 35-29 at halftime.  Blake Williams' (Cocoa Beach/Daytona Beach CC) three-pointer with 11:15 remaining put the Mocs ahead to stay 43-41.  Newcomer Dale Parsons (Toronto, Ontario) came off the bench to lead the Moccasins' scoring with 17 points.  Another newcomer, Michael Simms (Chicago, Ill.), had 14 points and Hurley Dunbar (Stuart/Martin County HS), in his first regular season game after

missing all of last season with a knee injury, added 12 points off the bench, hitting 10 of 12 from the free throw line.  Two more newcomers, Dwayne Abraham

(Reisterstown, Md.) and Andrei Grant (Kingston, Jamaica), led the Mocs' rebounding with 12 each.  

The Moccasins head to Montevallo, Alabama, for the weekend, where they'll play in the Montevallo Classic, facing Albany State Friday and Virginia State Saturday.  Game time is 4:00 p.m. (EST) both days.

[E.T.]

E.T.'s Co-MVP's of the Game

MICHAEL SIMMS

ANDREI GRANT