LAKELAND, Fla. – The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team fell 93-76 to nationally ranked No. 9 Florida Southern College in the first game of the 2014-15 regular season in the Sunshine State/Gulf South Conference Challenge Saturday.

West Alabama (0-1), under first year head coach Allen Sharpe, will move onto face Eckerd College in the round robin tournament Sunday at 2 p.m. Eckerd fell to No. 13 Delta State 89-77 earlier in the day. Florida Southern (1-0) will host the Statesman at 4 p.m. Sunday.

"This was a tough opener for us, but we feel like we were right where we wanted to be at halftime," said Sharpe. "Florida Southern came out very strong in the second half and they just keep so much pressure on you because of their offense, and we couldn't catch up.

"We're still learning and figuring out who to play," Sharpe said. "Justin Wright and Lleon Tillman each had great performances, and Charles Eaton played very well in the second half, despite not getting in the first. That's just part of the learning process for us right now."

The Tigers shot 15-for-27 (55.6 percent) from the field in the first half, leading by as many as seven and taking a 40-39 advantage at the half.

The Moccasins opened the second half with 13-2 run to take a 52-42 lead by the first media timeout. FSC improved from shooting 13-for-35 (37.1 percent) in the first half to 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) in the second, building its largest lead of 19 points in the final four minutes.

Kevin Capers led the Mocs with 24 points, recording 19 of them in the first half. Stephen Battle followed with 14 points, while Tyler Kelly, Dominique Williams and Michael Volovic tallied 10 each.  

Justin Wright led UWA in his first regular season game as a Tiger, with 21 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 from the 3-point arc. Lleon Tillman opened his senior season with his seventh career double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds. Deontaye Ewing also finished with 12 points.