Indians defeat Northwest Florida; win share of Conference Championship

The #14 Chipola men's basketball team used a strong second half to defeat Northwest Florida, 76-60, and win a share of the Panhandle Conference Championship. The Indians and Tallahassee tied atop the conference standings with a record of 13-3.

The Raiders were 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor in the first half and led the Indians, 34-31, at the break. The Indians were able to keep the game within one possession going to the locker room despite only shooting 36.4 percent from the floor and only 1-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The Raiders started out the second half on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 39-31. The Indians would tie the score at 41-41 by going on a 10-2 capped off by Lance Erving's steal and layup.

Northwest Florida refused to go away and recaptured the lead. Back-to-back threes by Jaeden Zackery put the Indians up 53-48 midway through the second half. The Raiders would get to within one with just under seven minutes remaining but Chipola never lost the lead again. The Indians would pull away and stretch the lead to sixteen in the final minute of play.

Nae'Qwan Tomlin led all scorers with 19 points. Jaeden Zackery finished in double figures for the third consecutive game, scoring 18 in the game. Achor Achor had a season-high 15 points for the Indians.

Next up for the Indians will be the FCSAA/Region VIII Championship on April 8-10, 2021. The seeding for the tournament will be announced on Thursday, April 1. 

FCSAA/Region VIII brackets, tickets, and other tournament information

From Coach Tyndall

First off I would like to say that I think Coach Laing and his assistant did an incredible job of holding together their team and having them compete at a high-level after being put in a tough position. They are to be commended. The first half we did not defend like I would have liked and we had too many turnovers. In the second half, we settled in, moved the ball, and defended much better. I am incredibly proud of our coaching staff and our players after being picked fourth out of five teams in the preseason, to be co-champs in the best league in the country is quite an accomplishment. I certainly hope that all of our great fans will make the trip over for the state tournament on April 8th. We need them there!

Game Notes

• The Indians swept the series over the Raiders for the second consecutive season. Chipola has won the last eight meetings between the two teams, dating back to the 2018-2019 season.
• Chipola outrebounded the Raiders 34-20.
• The Indians' bench outscored the Raiders' bench, 24-9.
• Chipola shot 16-of-21 in the second half including 5-of-6 from three-point range.