"The first thing I told the guys was whether we're at home or away for any conference game, I don't care what the score is because I'm gonna take a win when we can get a win," said head coach Tom Parks. "Obviously, the best region in the country and every conference is loaded and now we got the #1 team (FSW) in the nation in our conference with HCC doing an unbelievable job rebuilding their program as well as Polk State and SPC. Our conference is stacked and anytime we can get a win, we will take one and we're just grinding it out and at the end of the game, we had more points than them and that's what it came down to."
In the first half, it was mainly the defense from freshman D'Moi Hodge that led the first half as the Manatees were up by as much as 18 points before ending the first half 49-35.
In the second half, the Hawks tried to keep up with the Manatees predominantly from sophomores Jeffrey Prophete and Jacorie Archie, but it did little effect on SCF as they manage to pull away with the win.
"In a lot of these wins, there's one or two guys that step up that haven't got their number called, the minutes that they didn't get or the role they're not happy about, but they continue to work and get shots outside of practice while busting their butts," said Parks. "The one guy that comes to mind is Chris (Scarborough)," Parks added on his players. "I love the kid. He's an unbelievable person, great student who works very hard in the classroom and on the court. There were several road trips where he has not played and when we come back from a road trip late at night, he and Max (Bell-Ramos) get in the gym and shoot for hours, which shows that his dedication to the program, belief in me to continue to keep working on his game and being ready for his number to be called. He's stepped up when we needed him to and I couldn't be more happy for him."
Freshman Christnoff Scarborough, who did not enter the game until the second half, finished with with 10 points and two rebounds.
"I think we did well and played really solid," said Scarborough on the team's performance. "We could've rebounded a little better, but overall we were solid. I got rebounds and did what I needed to do. I just try to stay positive even if I didn't play in the first half."
Along with Scarborough, four other Manatees reached double figures in scoring from Hodge, fellow freshman Isiah Dasher and sophomores Cyrus Barnes and DeAndre Osuigwe. Dasher and Hodge had a double-double each. Dasher lead the way with a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block, while Hodge also finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. In fact, he was two steals shy of a triple-double as he added eight steals, two assists and a block.
"I felt like I could've played better defense and my rebounding helped my offense, but everyone can score on the team," said Dasher on his performance. "I just need to get better with my defense."
Barnes finished with 18 points (8-for-9 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 3-for-3 FT), which included three monstrous dunks, four rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Osuigwe finished with 19 points (4-for-9 3PT) and eight assists.
"I felt like I did a solid job," said Osuigwe on his performance. "I just came out to do what I need to do to help get the win. My 3-point shot was really strong tonight, which was really good. When they (HCC) were trying to stop me, I decided to stop and give it to my teammates. It was an easy game today and I just let the game come to me."
Prophete and Archie were the leading scorers for the Hawks. Prophete finished with 21 points while Archie had a game-high 24 points.
Up Next:
The Manatees return to face FSW (22-1, 6-0 Suncoast) on the road again at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The Buccaneers are ranked #1 in the nation.
"FSW is very talented, but are probably not the most talented team in the nation, but they play really hard," said Parks on playing FSW. "Their defense is what makes them special. If you look at the other top 25 teams in the nation, there are a lot that can score from really talented players, but they don't play defense and that's what FSW does really well with length, athleticism, size and effort. We just got to move the ball more against them and play more as a team if we want a chance to win the game and be more aggressive on defense. We can't back down even if they are the #1 team in the nation with all these big-time players, but we got to play our game and realize we lace their shoes up like we do and play on the same court in the same conference and should respect us. We'll continue to work, fight and at the end of the day, win or lose, regardless of what happens in any game, we just want to get better any every single day."
After talking about the performance against HCC, coach Parks gave me this heartfelt response on writing about the team:
"I just want to thank you Pat for doing this because I think it's unbelievable with your passion and the fact that you come and support us every game with your notebook writing stats and how serious you take this. It means a lot to our program and we really appreciate your support and writing about us on your blog. It really means a lot to us."
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