"We dug ourselves a hole in the first half and the score didn't really paint that picture," said head coach Tom Parks. "We had 10 turnovers at halftime, six shots blocked, three bad shots and 10 offensive rebounds to them (SPC), so we left about 19 empty offensive possessions on the board in the first half and gave them 10 extra possessions. The fact that we were down by four was actually a miracle when I told the guys and that was the great thing about it, so it wasn't like the stats led to us being demoralized, it was actually really encouraging that we could play that way and only be down four."
"We came out a little slow in the beginning because we were trading baskets with them," said sophomore DeAndre Osuigwe. "In the second half, we had a little talk in the locker room and coach (Parks) said we had to pick it up, so we came out in the second half picking it up and I had to lead the team, give guys the ball, and drive to the paint because our 3-pointers weren't falling tonight."
The game started with redshirt sophomore Tre Alexandrea opening the scoreboard with a mid-range, which was followed by a putback layup by freshman Isiah Dasher for a 4-0 SCF lead, but after free throws by freshman Kobie Johnson, a 3-pointer by sophomore Daniel Melvin and a free throw by freshman Keondre Jackson, the Titans took a 6-4 lead before Dasher tied it up with a layup and Hodge gave the Manatees the lead a 3-pointer of his own with 14:47 left on the clock.
The Manatees continued to hold onto the lead for the next three minutes until freshman Anfernee Munnings tied the game with a 3-pointer at 13-13 before freshman Felipe Santos gave the Titans a 16-13 lead after making one of two free throws and a dunk, which put the Manatees on a cold streak for three minutes before sophomore Cyrus Barnes made a layup to stop it to make it 21-15 SPC and cut the deficit to 21-17 after a SPC goaltend call.
With seven minutes left in the first half, the Titans then went on a quick 4-0 run before Osuigwe put up a 3-point shot to cut the lead to five, but as the Manatees tried to add to their score, the Titans would extend the lead until there was 5:34 left when Dasher cut the lead to four from an and-one before a jumpshot by Alexandrea cut the Titans' lead to two.
With 4:15 left and the score 29-25 SPC, freshman Christnoff Scarborough tried cut the deficit to two against with a jumpshot, but the Titans kept added to their score. With 16 seconds left before the end of the first half and the score 36-29 SPC, Barnes would cut the deficit to four with a 3-pointer and end the first half 36-32 SPC.
As the start of the second half went underway, the Titans would get on the board first with six unanswered points and would extend the lead by as much as 12, but little did the Titans know was a comeback was in tact for the Manatees. With 16:30 minutes left and the score 49-37 SPC, freshman D'Moi Hodge would spark some life with a thunderous dunk, which would then be followed by a lay up by Dasher.
Instead of focusing fully on offense, the Manatees adjusted some defense to the mix with a big block by sophomore Miles Wilson and another layup from Dasher from a behind the back assist by Osuigwe, which cut the SPC lead to eight. The Manatees continued their strategy after a dunk by Barnes.
Despite being down between eight to 10 points, the Manatees continued to push the Titans with big help from Wilson and Barnes, and with 11 minutes left Wilson would give the Manatees their first lead of the second half after converting an and-one. After SPC regained the one-point lead after a putback by Santos, Barnes and sophomore Clearance Miles would hit two back-to-back 3-point shots for a 64-61 lead while the Manatees continued to hold on to the lead. A few more free throws and a 3-pointer from Hodge extend the Manatees lead by nine.
With 5:15 left before the end, Miles would add another three to the mix to make it 75-65 SCF. The Titans would try to catch up and cut the deficit to six before a timeout, but it would be to no avail as the Manatees pulled away with the win.
Barnes, who played off the bench, led the team with 23 points (8-for-11 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 5-for-7 FT) and five rebounds, while Dasher and Hodge each finished with 17 points. Dasher added three rebounds, while Hodge added nine rebounds, three assists and seven steals. Hodge returned to the lineup after missing three games due to a knee injury.
"It felt great to be back on the court," said Hodge on returning from injury. "I hated watching from the sidelines and not being able to play, but it felt good to be back on full health and doing what I need to do."
"D'Moi is a special person and special player and can do anything on the floor," said Parks on Hodges' return. "You can put him in any spot to guard any player, he rebounds, passes, can bring the ball up the floor and postup. He's so versatile on both ends of the floor, but when we don't have him, we're missing a really big piece, and he's such an unbelievable kid and is so coachable that he can keep getting better. We're happy to have him back because we're a whole lot better with him."
Osuigwe tied a season-high with 10 assists to go with his five points and four rebounds.
"I was a little off from the 3-point line," said Osuigwe on his performance. "I wasn't really getting to the rim too well and wasn't making too many shots, so when I see that happening, I just started giving my teammates the ball and get in the lane to draw one defender and kick it out. When I start doing that, we start getting greater shots."
In addition, the win was Parks' first win in Suncoast play.
"It feels great and beating St. Pete feels really great," said Parks on his first Suncoast win. "Because they're so tough, scrappy and play so aggressive with a hall of fame coach, so when you combine all those things, being this is my first conference win, it's remarkable and I was really happy for our guys because we didn't want to go to Hillsborough with an 0-2 record in conference. We got a little momentum now and played a lot better today than we did on Saturday, in night and day with two other teams and I'm just very happy about it."
"It felt great," said Osuigwe on the conference win. "Being down by four and coming out to take the lead always feels good. It was real fun."
Wilson, who also played off the bench, tied his season-high with 13 points (4-for-4 FG, 5-for-5 FT) and five rebounds.
"Miles played the best game since I've been coaching here," said Parks on Wilson. "The thing about him is that he is a little bit misunderstood. He's a great person, but he's a little different and with that. sometimes he doesn't really understand that goes into being a college basketball player. He'll do it if he knows it, but it takes time for him to adjust. This week, he got in extra work with the coaches, which I didn't see since I've been here. He had more energy and played with more passion than the last two days of practice than anybody and he stepped up tonight, and it's always nice when guys try to do the right thing and are rewarded for it."
Alexandrea and Miles finished with six points each. Alexandrea added a rebound and an assist before being pulled out due to an injury, while Miles added a rebound, two assists a block and a steal.
"Clearance is someone who we are trying to give a lot of confidence to," said Parks on Miles. "He's been playing really well in practice, so it was definitely worth giving him a shot early on and that's the struggle I usually find with Clearance because by the time I want to put him in, he sat for a long time and he hasn't been successful in those circumstances."
"Tre got his third foul with 19:30 left in the second half and I didn't put him back in the game," said Parks on Alexandrea. "Tre was the best teammate I've seen him be since he's been here. He was the first one off the bench when guys check out and the first off the bench when we made a big play. I even looked at him at one point to put him in the game and he gave me this look to say 'don't do it coach, we got this' and so for him to have the humility and be able to accept his spot on the bench in a game like this, being a redshirt sophomore was remarkable and I think that shows a lot of growth."
Scarborough (four points and two rebounds), sophomore Joel Coffey (one rebound and one steal) and freshman Max Bell-Ramos (one rebound) also contributed in the game for the Manatees.
Sophomore Gary Jefferson led the Titans with 18 points and six rebounds, while classmate Daniel Melvin followed with 16 points and four assists.
Up Next:
The Manatees travel to Hillsborough as they take on HCC (12-7, 0-1 Suncoast on Saturday, January 12 at 4 pm at the HCC Center.
The Manatees continued to hold onto the lead for the next three minutes until freshman Anfernee Munnings tied the game with a 3-pointer at 13-13 before freshman Felipe Santos gave the Titans a 16-13 lead after making one of two free throws and a dunk, which put the Manatees on a cold streak for three minutes before sophomore Cyrus Barnes made a layup to stop it to make it 21-15 SPC and cut the deficit to 21-17 after a SPC goaltend call.
With seven minutes left in the first half, the Titans then went on a quick 4-0 run before Osuigwe put up a 3-point shot to cut the lead to five, but as the Manatees tried to add to their score, the Titans would extend the lead until there was 5:34 left when Dasher cut the lead to four from an and-one before a jumpshot by Alexandrea cut the Titans' lead to two.
With 4:15 left and the score 29-25 SPC, freshman Christnoff Scarborough tried cut the deficit to two against with a jumpshot, but the Titans kept added to their score. With 16 seconds left before the end of the first half and the score 36-29 SPC, Barnes would cut the deficit to four with a 3-pointer and end the first half 36-32 SPC.
As the start of the second half went underway, the Titans would get on the board first with six unanswered points and would extend the lead by as much as 12, but little did the Titans know was a comeback was in tact for the Manatees. With 16:30 minutes left and the score 49-37 SPC, freshman D'Moi Hodge would spark some life with a thunderous dunk, which would then be followed by a lay up by Dasher.
Instead of focusing fully on offense, the Manatees adjusted some defense to the mix with a big block by sophomore Miles Wilson and another layup from Dasher from a behind the back assist by Osuigwe, which cut the SPC lead to eight. The Manatees continued their strategy after a dunk by Barnes.
Despite being down between eight to 10 points, the Manatees continued to push the Titans with big help from Wilson and Barnes, and with 11 minutes left Wilson would give the Manatees their first lead of the second half after converting an and-one. After SPC regained the one-point lead after a putback by Santos, Barnes and sophomore Clearance Miles would hit two back-to-back 3-point shots for a 64-61 lead while the Manatees continued to hold on to the lead. A few more free throws and a 3-pointer from Hodge extend the Manatees lead by nine.
With 5:15 left before the end, Miles would add another three to the mix to make it 75-65 SCF. The Titans would try to catch up and cut the deficit to six before a timeout, but it would be to no avail as the Manatees pulled away with the win.
Barnes, who played off the bench, led the team with 23 points (8-for-11 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 5-for-7 FT) and five rebounds, while Dasher and Hodge each finished with 17 points. Dasher added three rebounds, while Hodge added nine rebounds, three assists and seven steals. Hodge returned to the lineup after missing three games due to a knee injury.
"It felt great to be back on the court," said Hodge on returning from injury. "I hated watching from the sidelines and not being able to play, but it felt good to be back on full health and doing what I need to do."
"D'Moi is a special person and special player and can do anything on the floor," said Parks on Hodges' return. "You can put him in any spot to guard any player, he rebounds, passes, can bring the ball up the floor and postup. He's so versatile on both ends of the floor, but when we don't have him, we're missing a really big piece, and he's such an unbelievable kid and is so coachable that he can keep getting better. We're happy to have him back because we're a whole lot better with him."
Osuigwe tied a season-high with 10 assists to go with his five points and four rebounds.
"I was a little off from the 3-point line," said Osuigwe on his performance. "I wasn't really getting to the rim too well and wasn't making too many shots, so when I see that happening, I just started giving my teammates the ball and get in the lane to draw one defender and kick it out. When I start doing that, we start getting greater shots."
In addition, the win was Parks' first win in Suncoast play.
"It feels great and beating St. Pete feels really great," said Parks on his first Suncoast win. "Because they're so tough, scrappy and play so aggressive with a hall of fame coach, so when you combine all those things, being this is my first conference win, it's remarkable and I was really happy for our guys because we didn't want to go to Hillsborough with an 0-2 record in conference. We got a little momentum now and played a lot better today than we did on Saturday, in night and day with two other teams and I'm just very happy about it."
"It felt great," said Osuigwe on the conference win. "Being down by four and coming out to take the lead always feels good. It was real fun."
Wilson, who also played off the bench, tied his season-high with 13 points (4-for-4 FG, 5-for-5 FT) and five rebounds.
"Miles played the best game since I've been coaching here," said Parks on Wilson. "The thing about him is that he is a little bit misunderstood. He's a great person, but he's a little different and with that. sometimes he doesn't really understand that goes into being a college basketball player. He'll do it if he knows it, but it takes time for him to adjust. This week, he got in extra work with the coaches, which I didn't see since I've been here. He had more energy and played with more passion than the last two days of practice than anybody and he stepped up tonight, and it's always nice when guys try to do the right thing and are rewarded for it."
Alexandrea and Miles finished with six points each. Alexandrea added a rebound and an assist before being pulled out due to an injury, while Miles added a rebound, two assists a block and a steal.
"Clearance is someone who we are trying to give a lot of confidence to," said Parks on Miles. "He's been playing really well in practice, so it was definitely worth giving him a shot early on and that's the struggle I usually find with Clearance because by the time I want to put him in, he sat for a long time and he hasn't been successful in those circumstances."
"Tre got his third foul with 19:30 left in the second half and I didn't put him back in the game," said Parks on Alexandrea. "Tre was the best teammate I've seen him be since he's been here. He was the first one off the bench when guys check out and the first off the bench when we made a big play. I even looked at him at one point to put him in the game and he gave me this look to say 'don't do it coach, we got this' and so for him to have the humility and be able to accept his spot on the bench in a game like this, being a redshirt sophomore was remarkable and I think that shows a lot of growth."
Scarborough (four points and two rebounds), sophomore Joel Coffey (one rebound and one steal) and freshman Max Bell-Ramos (one rebound) also contributed in the game for the Manatees.
Sophomore Gary Jefferson led the Titans with 18 points and six rebounds, while classmate Daniel Melvin followed with 16 points and four assists.
Up Next:
The Manatees travel to Hillsborough as they take on HCC (12-7, 0-1 Suncoast on Saturday, January 12 at 4 pm at the HCC Center.
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