Men’s basketball drops two straight hyper-close match ups

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Dominick Denny dribbles around his opponent. | Photo courtesy of FSC Athletics

Karl van Gelder
Staff Writer

The No. 8 men’s basketball team has stumbled over their last two games, going 0-2 over the stretch, tying the number of losses they had over the first 17 games of the season. 

The first loss was to No. 3 Nova Southeastern in the rematch of last year’s South Region Championship game, where the Mocs fell 117-112 and the second was against Saint Leo at Saint Leo in a soul crushing double-overtime 102-100 loss. 

In the match up against Nova, the Mocs offense was unstoppable over the first 30 minutes of the game. By the end of the game Jadin Booth tied his career-high for points with 40 and did so with incredibly efficient shooting from three, going 8-12 from the perimeter. This was Booth’s second 40-point game of the new year, and his career, as well as his fourth game with 30 or more points.

“The main factor is simply the work I’ve put in. Trusting God with what His will is and I’ve always believed the work will show itself approved at some point so I’ve just kept my head down and stayed with the work and God’s plan,” Booth said in regards to his offensive success.

In the top ten match up, every Mocs starter scored double-digit points with Dominick Denny also having a career-day, scoring 23 points and racking up ten assists. Denny is the only Moc this season with double digit assists.

“…everyone has stepped up and we’re all starting to find our rhythm. Everyone on the team are gym rats so when you have a group of guys like that, the results are proven to be in our favor,” said Booth.

In the game Florida Southern scored the tied-ninth most points in an away game, and most in a non-overtime loss in school history with their 112 points. 

The game ended up in a loss because of strong late-game play by the reigning South Region champions, and national runner-ups. NSU found ways to get themselves to the line while slowing down the Mocs offense by forcing them to work in the half-court without the aid of Booth, who was face-guarded for the final seven minutes of game time.

After the loss Florida Southern had their eyes on getting back on track against Saint Leo, looking to regain their footing in the conference standings after falling to second in the Sunshine State Conference.

“We’re onto the next one right now. That loss hurts but no one is not confident in our locker room. If anything we’re more confident than we’ve ever been and we’re also more hungry than we’ve ever been… We’ll have our shot at them again but more importantly we’re looking to take care of business the rest of conference play because we know what we’re ultimately playing for,” said Booth.

The match up against Saint Leo started with each side trading blows, like two prize fighters testing what the other had in the early rounds of a bout, but once the second media time out ended Saint Leo made a big swing at hit. The Lions went on an 11-2 run over the next four minutes, but the Mocs showed their pedigree, swinging back and looking to bring the game closer, which they ultimately did as the first half ended with the Mocs down 47-41.

The second started off very similarly to the first half and the NSU game, with free throws. The teams went back to trading possessions before the Mocs began surging back with 14 minutes to go in the second half.

The Mocs full court pressure began to pay off late in the second half, as they tied it up with two minutes to go for the first time since the first half. Both teams then returned to trading buckets, and regulation ended with Saint Leo free throws and missed shots.

The first overtime was a battle in the paint with the final points for both teams coming from the free throw line, and the second overtime saw a similar play style, but with key Mocs Jadin Booth and Alex Steen fouling out the Mocs weren’t able to hold on.

In the loss Booth, Denny and Steen all had 20 or more points and Peyton Gerald was the lone Mocs with a double-double with his 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The men’s basketball team will look to get back on track away at Florida Tech on Jan. 25 and back home Jan. 29 against the Tampa Spartans.

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