2nd Herd Opens Season at Home

With the 2018-19 season in the books, the SCF basketball team readies for the 2019-20 season as they have their season-opener at home at Hal Chasey Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, November 2 at 2 pm. The Manatees will welcome Palm Beach State (0-1) for their opening game.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees finished last season 18-15 overall with a 6-6 record in the Suncoast behind then #1 FSW. From there, they would win the Suncoast Conference Tournament before falling in the first round to Eastern Florida State in the quarterfinals of the FCSAA State Tournament.

The Manatees are led by second-year head coach Tom Parks. Parks joined SCF Fall 2018 after spending the prior season as associate head coach for EFSC. He is joined by head assistant coach Rob Beckman, Lem Andrews, Ace Carter and newly appointed assistant coach Nav Gill. Student assistant David Peck also joins the coaching staff.

Losses and Gains:
The team lost nine players with five of them continuing to play for different universities: Joel Coffey NAIA Webber International), Corey Davis (NAIA Keiser), Deandre Osuigwe (NCAA DII Alaska-Anchorage), Tre Alexandrea (NAIA Thomas) and Cyrus Barnes (NCAA DII Lindenwood).

As far as newcomers, Parks was able to snag nine newcomers: Marshall Kearing, Sam Grayson, Jean-Pierre (JP) Frederick, J-Quan Ferrol, Jordan Clark, Jamal Qualls, Michael Gavin, Rae Miller and Christian Nieto. Redshirt freshmen Jaylen Jones and Calvin McCutcheon will also be on the team after sitting out last season.

Key returners for the Manatees include D'Moi Hodge, Isiah Dasher and Christnoff Scarborough.

Hodge led the Manatees averaging 19.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game before being named on the All-Suncoast First Team and FCSAA All-State Team.

Dasher averaged 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while joining Hodge on the All-Suncoast First Team.

Scarborough, the lone returning big man, finished his freshman campaign with 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Scouting Palm Beach State:
The Panthers finished last season 21-9 overall with a 9-3 record in the Southern Conference where they would fall in the quarterfinals of the FCSAA State Tournament to Chipola College. The Panthers opened their season at home with a 86-85 loss to Triple Threat Prep.

The Panthers have a whole new team that includes nine transfers with three being from the NCAA DI and the remaining from different junior colleges.

Series History (2012-Present):
The Manatees are 0-8 against the Panthers. Last time both teams played, the Panthers came away with a 80-73 win at SCF.

How to Keep Up:
The game will be livestream on the SCF Sports Network or the SCF Athletics YouTube page. Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF- @SCF_Basketball
PBSC- @PBSCPanthers

Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/ or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g