LAWRENCE, Kan. – A second straight night on the hardwood at the Ernie Stevens Classic for the No. 15-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team resulted in a convincing win over the No. 21-ranked Florida College Falcons on Friday night. Southwestern had a pronounced advantage on the boards, while assisting on 15 of their 26 made baskets in the 90-78 win over the Falcons.

"Tonight's win was a great team effort against a very good, well coached Florida College team," said head coach Matt O'Brien. "I am very happy about our players continuing to work together for the betterment of the team. I am also proud of the role players who came in and played very important spot minutes for us."

Southwestern's offensive showing in the first half was not as smooth as you may think, as Cevin Clark really carried the load for the team. He shot 5-of-10 in the opening period, but the remainder of the SC roster hit just six field goals on 23 tries. They did make all nine of their attempts from the charity stripe, which helped with their point total. Overall, the squad compiled 38 points on 11-of-33 shooting. Conversely, Florida College had a rather efficient half of play in the first. They sunk 14-of-32 shots, but only shot three free throws in the stanza. They put up 35 points to trail SC by a 38-35 score.

After halftime, the Builders' offense exploded, yet again.  In this battle, the Moundbuilders dropped in 15 of their 27 shots to score 52 second-half points. They shot an unreal 23 free throws in the frame, making 18 of those tries. The 21-15 rebounding lead for Southwestern in the half would help the squad in their pursuit of the victory, as well. The Falcons hit a very similar number as they did in the opening act, knocking down 15-of-34 shots in the latter half. They did, however, fail to put home a single three-point shot after the break. A 52-43 advantage over the course of the second put SC on top for good by a final of 90-78.

Clark would finish the bout with 30 points, leading the squad in scoring. He knocked down eight of his 16 shots and sunk 6-of-12 attempts from downtown. His effort was followed up by Deng Bol, who scored 14 of his 23 total points in the second half. Bol put in seven shots on 13 tries, while hitting 8-of-9 at the stripe in the contest. Jarvis Jennings (13) and Cooper Pierce (10) would also finish in double-figures.

Pierce had a nice night as a facilitator, as well, tallying four assists in the battle. Jennings would add three to the total, while Bol, Andrew O'Brien and Phillip Smith added a pair. Clark and Zach Hidlago rounded out the assist list with one apiece.

Rebounding was also strong for Pierce tonight, as he racked up 11 boards for the Builders. That effort earned him a double-double for the first time this season. O'Brien was not the leader in rebounds for SC for the first time this season, as he was held to just eight. He did foul out in the second half of this game, shortening the amount of time that he had available to reach the 10-board mark. Jennings' six rebounds, along with four backboards from both Clark and Bol, were nice contributions to the win. Smith and Trey Abasolo would reel in three boards each, as well.

O'Brien did lead the team in steals with two, and Clark, Bol and Pierce each added a single steal to the box score. Jennings, Pierce and O'Brien were all able to swat away a single shot apiece from the Falcons, snuffing out three scoring attempts.

The Builders (5-0) have started this campaign on an impressive winning streak, beating a top-25 opponent on this night to continue said run. Southwestern will have an exhibition battle against Baptist Bible College on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Lawrence at the Ernie Stevens Classic, before starting the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) campaign on Wednesday, November 16 in Bartlesville, Okla. against another ranked opponent in the No. 4-ranked Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

--buildersports.com--