Karl van Gelder
Staff Writer
The No. 18 men’s basketball team’s season came to a close in the South Regional Semifinal against No. 3 University of Alabama Huntsville in a 97-86 loss. Florida Southern finished the season with a 26-9 record, the best record since the 2019-20 season when the Mocs finished with a 29-2 record before the season was cut short due to the pandemic.
In Head Coach Mike Donnelly’s 10th season with the program the Mocs continued to rewrite the record books. Nationally Florida Southern ranked first in blocks for the second year in a row, totalling 6.9 per game with 241 blocks over the course of the season – the most in program history. The Mocs also were a top ten scoring offense in Division II with 92.6 points-per-game, the second highest PPG ever in Florida Southern history only behind the 2019-20 season’s average of 93.9.
Leading the offense were two senior stars in Jadin Booth and Dominic Denny who both amassed over 165 assists this season, making them the only teammates to ever do so in the same season at Florida Southern.
“It’s so important in college basketball to have really good guards, you can have all the size in the world, but you need that solid guard play… [Booth and Denny] were two fifth year guys who had great years for us, they combined to have over 300 assists on the year, the ball was in their hands alot, they made the right decision and both of them can score,” Donnelly said.
Booth nearly never left the floor for the Mocs, averaging 36.6 minutes-per-game with 1,280 minutes this season, both the most ever in a single season at Florida Southern. Booth also scored the third most points in a season with 736, in great part due to his calm in the clutch at the charity stripe, where he shot 92.6% – the best mark from the free throw line by a Moc with over 100 attempts in a single season. With his volume, and consistency, from the line Booth became the all-time leader in free-throw percentage at Florida Southern with a career average of 90.1%.
In what could be Booth’s final season as a Moc he climbed into the top 10 for points in a career with 1,594 and became one of six Mocs ever to have 1,500 points and 300 assists in a career at Florida Southern. Booth led the Mocs in assists this season with 183, the fifth most ever in a season at Florida Southern.
Dominic Denny, a redshirt senior, totaled 175 assists in his final collegiate season, the eighth most ever in a season at FSC enroute to becoming one of four Mocs ever to dish out 500 assists in a career with the Mocs. Denny got exactly 500 assists in his career, fourth most ever, and racked up 165 steals the ninth most in a career. He also was one game away with his 126 career games from playing the 10th most games ever as a Moc.
Alex Steen was the defensive stopper and offensive rebounder that allowed the Mocs offensive engine to run, and jump, to new heights. Steen, like Booth, was selected to the All-SSC 1st team and for the second year in a row was selected as the SSC Defensive Player of the Year. Steen led the conference in blocks, with 86. His 86 blocks this season was the fourth most in Division II and placed him second all time in career blocks at Florida Southern. Steen also averaged a double-double for the second season in a row with 17.9 PPG and 10.6 rebounds-per-game.
Donelly said, “Alex has had a tremendous three years here, and I think he took another step in his evolvement, he continues to evolve as a player, and his shot blocking … He did a really good job adjusting, we didn’t have him over as much on the weak side to block shots, if we did he probably would have finished with over 100.”
The surprise of the season for Florida Southern was the senior transfer Peyton Gerald who was thrust into the starting lineup due to the injury of Kristians Feierbergs. PG showed his versatility from the jump and didn’t look back. Gerald was seventh in the Division II in blocks with 74, putting him second in the SSC, earning him All-SSC Defensive team. Gerald also accumulated 64 steals, putting him in the top 40 for Division II. He did more than defending though, developing a jump shot and coming up big when needed on both ends as seen in the regional opener against Montevallo when he put up 15 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks to propel the Mocs to a win over Montevallo.
“[Gerald] came here with an open mind, didn’t resist doing things a little differently, did not resist his role, did not resist any kind of coaching and that mindset is everything … He was like a sponge, he wanted to learn, probably trying to do things a bit differently, and because of that he was our most improved player … Can’t say enough good words about Peyton, he had an exceptional year,” Donnelly said.
In the win against Montevallo, redshirt senior Joe Moon IV had 17 points with big shots down the stretch. “Mr. Everyday” was a pivotal player in his two-year career at Florida Southern providing a defensive intensity to the court and stepping up when called on the offensive end throughout his tenure. Moon IV totaled over 1,800 minutes at Florida Southern with 598 points, 222 rebounds, 144 assists and 66 steals during those minutes.
Moon IV, like other Mocs mentioned, will depart after this season with Denny, Gerald, Kristians Feierburgs and Trey Jones out of eligibility. Booth and Steen have the opportunity to stay, but with the transfer portal and other factors the Mocs’ 2025-26 roster is very much up in the air.
