SCF Basketball: FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 tournament Preview

The SCF basketball team (18-14) are now on to their next destination the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 tournament at the College of Central Florida (CCF) Patriot Gym in Ocala, Florida. The Manatees will face Eastern Florida State College (24-6) on Thursday, March 7 at 8 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of history as they claimed the Suncoast Conference Tournament Championship with a 103-96 comeback win against Polk State to advance to the state tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 year.

2012-13 Manatees:
In the 2012-13 season, the Manatees were led by Brock Erickson, the current associate head coach for Bryant University. Erickson led the Manatees to the 2013 Suncoast Conference Tournament title and qualified for the state tournament for the third time in 15 years before becoming assistant coach at Iona College for four seasons prior to Bryant.

On the 2012-13 team is a list of the roster and where they went after SCF:
Larry Keys
Denzel Myers (DII Lander University)
Dauntae Johnson (Then USCAA Florida National University)
Michael Sanchez (NJCAA Broward College followed by DII Concord University)
Anders Haas (Albany, transferred DII Barry University followed by SISU Copanhagen)
Obinna "Obi" Oleka (Arizona State followed by St. John's Edge (Canada))
Isaiah Williams (Iona followed by Union Neuchâtel Basket (Switzerland))
Stone Hollaway (UNF)
Brian Cobb (DII Eckerd College)
Savad Garner (DII Barry)
Devon Hodges

Tournament Breakdown:
The tournament is single elimination with the top two teams in their respected conferences:
#1 FSW - Suncoast
SCF - Suncoast
 #8 Northwest Florida State - Panhandle
#9 Chipola - Panhandle
#18 Eastern Florida State - Mid-Florida
#21 Daytona State - Mid-Florida
RV Palm Beach State - Southern
Indian River State- Southern

The winner between SCF and#18 EFSC will play the winner between RV Palm Beach State or #11 Chipola in the semifinals. Although, Chipola could get a possible at-large bid in the national tournament from their ranking.

The winner of the tournament will qualify for the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas as a representative for NJCAA Region 8.

#1 FSW is the highest seed in the tournament and ranked #1 in the nation, but say for example, they lose in the semifinals of the tournament against Daytona State or NWFS, then what would happen? Well regardless if they win or lose the tournament, FSW will end up in the national tournament as an at-large bid. In fact, NWFS and Chipola could possibly be listed as at-large bids too based on their rankings.

Defending the NJCAA National Championship is South Plains from NJCAA Region 5/Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAA). South Plains, who is currently ranked tied for #9 in the nation with Chipola, won the 2018 NJCAA National Championship after defeating NJCAA Region 18/Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) Southern Idaho 98-95. It was their second title they won (first in 2008).

Suncoast Awards:
Prior to the tournament, the Suncoast Conference presented awards and accolades for the players.

Suncoast Player of the Year:
The Suncoast Player of the year was presented to FSW's sophomore Charles Manning. Manning is averaging 15 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Buccaneers.


Suncoast Coach of the Year:
FSW would take Suncoast Coach of the Year as it was won by Eric Murphy. Murphy enters his first season as head coach for the Buccaneers


All-Suncoast First Team:
Three Manatees were named to the All-Suncoast First team: freshmen D'Moi Hodge and Isaiah Dasher.

Hodge is averaging 19 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. The native of Tortola, British Virgin Islands that transferred from New Mexico Junior College, had a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds while adding three blocks and four steals against Polk State. Hodge was also named on the FCSAA All-State Team and earned the last weekly awards of being named FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week and NJCAA Player of the Week.

Dasher is averaging 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Dasher had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while adding five assists in the Suncoast Championship against Polk State.

Other members that joined Hodge and Dasher included the following by teams:

FSW: Manning, sophomore Maddox Daniels and redshirt sophomore Destin Barnes

HCC: sophomores Walter Covington IV and Jeffrey Prophete

Polk State: freshman T.K. Smith and sophomore Alsean Evans

St. Pete: sophomores Daniel Melvin and Gary Jefferson and freshman Anfernee Munnings


All-Suncoast Second Team:
Joining the All-Suncoast Second Team are sophomores Cyrus Barnes, Tre Alexandrea and DeAndre Osuigwe.

Mainly the six man of the team, Barnes is averaging 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Barnes had a career-high 24 points against Polk State.

Alexandrea is averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 assists per game. Alexandrea had 11 points against Polk State.

A pass first guard, Osuigwe is averaging 11.3 points and 5.4 assists per game. The Nyack College transfer had 16 points and seven assists against Polk State.

Other members that joined Barnes, Alexandrea and Osuigwe included the following by teams:

FSW: freshmen Terence Lewis II and Keon Ellis and sophomores Tyler Morman and DeShawn Thomas

HCC: sophomores Efstratios Kalogerias and Jacorie Archie and freshman Michael Cole

Polk State: freshman Bernat Vanaclocha

St. Pete: freshman Nathan Johnson

All-Suncoast All-Academic Team:

Nine players were named to the Suncoast All-Academic Team: Alexandrea, Dasher, Hodge, freshmen Remy Robert II, Max Richards and Christnoff Scarborough and sophomores Dylan Porter, Miles Wilson and Shelby Rhodes.

Robert II is averaging 5.3 points per game. In his last game against Florida Gateway, Robert played only five minutes with one steal.

Richards is averaging 2.6 points and two rebounds per game. Richards played four minutes and got one rebound against Polk State.

Mainly backing up sophomore Joel Coffey, Scarborough is averaging 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. In his last championship game against Polk State, Scarborough had seven points, four rebounds and a block.

After missing most of the season due to injury, Porter played in four games and averaged 1.3 rebounds per game.

After bouncing around between being in the starting rotation and bench role, Wilson is averaging five points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Rhodes played in 10 games, averaging 0.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Rhodes had two rebounds and a steal in his last game against FSW.

Scouting Eastern Florida State:
Led by Mid-Florida Conference Coach of the Year Jeremy Shulman, the Titans, who are ranked #18 in the NJCAA Top 25 Poll, were crowned the Mid-Florida Regular Season Champions after going 10-2 in the Mid-Florida Conference, thus becoming the #1 team in their Conference. In their last season game, the Titans defeated Santa Fe College 77-68 in their last conference game of the season.

Sophomore Jalen Warren (All-Mid-Florida First Team) leads the team offensively for the Titans. Warren, who will be transferring to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) for the 2019-20 season as a junior, is averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 assists per game. The native of Milton, Ontario, Canada had a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists against Santa Fe.

Freshman Jonathan Ned (All-Mid-Florida Second Team) and sophomore Nick Stampley (All-Mid-Florida First Team) also play key roles offensively. Ned is averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while Stampley is averaging 10.8 points and seven rebounds per game. Against Santa Fe, Ned had seven points and seven rebounds while Stampley had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

For SCF head coach Tom Parks, this will be a interesting homecoming for him. Prior to SCF, Parks was the associate head coach for EFSC where he helped lead the Titans to a 30-5 record and a 3rd place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.

Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees are 0-2 against the Titans. Last time both teams met was on November 17, 2017 where the Manatees fell 110-67 at the FSW Classic in Fort Myers.

How to Keep Up:
The game will be featured livestream on FCSAA's Team One Sports link. The game is free to watch for all fans

Fans can also stay up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
EFSC: @EasternFLMBB

Livestream Link: https://team1sports.com/fcsaa/

No comments:

Featured Post

SCF VB Closes Season

Bradenton, Fla - While their playoffs chances are diminished, the SCF volleyball team (3-10, 3-10 Sun Lakes) will look to close their season...