Making up for their two straight losses, the SCF basketball team (18-6, 4-2 Suncoast) pulled away with a tight knit win over St. Pete College (10-13, 1-5 Suncoast) 79-73. With the win, the Manatees are now 8-20 against the Titans and have claimed the series.
"Anytime you can claim a series over St. Pete College, that a feat in itself," said head coach Tom Parks. "Yet if you look at their record and think that they are not a good team, then you would be a fool because they are good. They have three very good guards and two bigs that will not stop rebounding no matter what. I'm surprised that they are not in the gym rebounding after the game ended. In the end it was a great job getting the series win even though it was not the best of both worlds."
"It was a good win and we came out to play," said freshman Michael Gavin on the win. "A lot of guys stepped up and it was a hard fought game, but overall we played good and executed down the stretch for the win."
"Obviously we wanted to win this game since we played them earlier in the season," said freshman Marshall Kearing. "We're thankful to claim the series over St. Pete and hopefully we'll go 3-0 against them."
Even after the win, Parks spoke high praise on St. Pete's head coach Earnest Crumbley, who enters his 21st season with the Titans.
"Earnest Crumbley can coach basketball," said Parks on Crumbley. "He is very humble, genuine, honest and will tell you how it is, but in a day he is such an unbelievable man and I wish I could have been there for the last 20 years to learn from him, but I'm glad I didn't have to coach against him for 20 years and hopefully not for another 20."
Alumni Weekend Events:
Before the game began, the SCF tennis, softball and baseball teams had their annual alumni games where alumni from different times played against the current teams. It was also a way for the alumni to get to know the current team and share their experiences with SCF.
The women's tennis team began with two returning alumni, Abby Hincker (nee Martinez) (20112-13) and Ava Schultz (2017-18). The two alum, as well as head coach Chloe Murphy (2012-14) rotated around and faced off in several double matches playing with and against the current players.
"It was awesome having people come back and past players I played with and with players I coached," said Murphy. "It was really cool to have them come out and play with the current team."
The tennis team, who finished last season 6-7 overall with a 4-6 record in conference, will begin their season at home and welcome NAIA Southeastern University.
"We're excited to start our season off at home," said Murphy on the season opener. "First couple of matches are always building to get the nerves out the girls and see what works for us and what the lineup should be like while trying to work on things that we did in practice and bringing it into the match."
Following the second annual alumni tennis match, the softball team held their annual game where the alum faced off against the current team, who finished last season 45-16 overall with a 16-4 in the Suncoast.
The alumni that came were as listed: Jaclyn Cokeroft (2012-13), Brandi Bunker (2015-16), Kassidy Neptune (2015-16), Nikki Sedivy (2015-16), Alisa 'AJ' Jackson (2015), Kayleigh Walters (2016-18), Haley McFadden (2018-19), Megan Seeds (2018-19), Sydney Parks (2018-19), Nicci Palumbo (2018-19) and SarahBeth Wengerd (2017).
Normally, the current team would usually win, but this year the alumni won winning by a score of 10-2 (yes I did keep count). I even got to partake in the softball game where I went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
"It was always fun to get together with everyone and have a good time, laugh and reminisce on the past," said Neptune.
"It was good and I was looking forward to it for a good while," said sophomore Madi LoCastro. "Me being a sophomore, I played with a lot of people that came back and I knew they were going to come back to do this. It always fun to do a loose fun game that you get to do with people that were in your shoes once and it was cool to hear their experiences with SCF and vice versa on our experiences throughout the day, which was fun."
The softball team will open their season at the two-day JUCO Kickoff Classic (January 31-February 1).
The baseball team closed with the final alumni game welcoming the baseball team from the 1970-71 school year. The baseball team, who finished 38-20 overall with a 20-11 record in the Suncoast, will open their season on neutral grounds against Florida Southwestern at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida (January 28).
"It was definitely a highlight of the year with the tradition that we have here that was second to none," said head coach Tim Hill II. "To be able to have our alums know that it's a special place and to hear them when they come back, the place meant more to them than anywhere else they been and to have them come back is such a special time as a great way to start the season."
With the festivities over with all the alum, let's fast forward to the basketball game with SCF and St. Pete in front of several Manatee Maniacs and fans in attendance, including the SCF president Dr. Carol Probstfeld.
Five players scored in double figures and it was sophomore D'Moi Hodge that led the Manatees as he finished with 22 points (7-for-22 FG, 3-for-9 3PT, 5-for-6 FT), seven rebounds, eight assists, seven steals and a block.
Kearing followed with 16 points (7-for-8 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 1-for-2 FT), five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a new season-high eight blocks.
"I started off slow in the first half because I wasn't in my routine to get ready," said Kearing on his performance. "It changed up a bit before the game, but obviously I got into a groove before the end of it. The second half, it was a close game and we had to push it and I had to step up a lot more to become more aggressive.
Sophomore Christnoff Scarborough had 11 points (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-2 FT), six rebounds and two steals off the bench.
"I think I played my role really well," said Scarborough. "I rebounded and scored when I needed to."
Freshman Michael Gavin, who earned his first career start, had 12 points (5-for-12 FG, 1-for-5 3PT, 1-for-1 FT), two assists, a steal and a block. Gavin was not in attendance the last three games due to personal reasons.
"It felt great just getting in the rhythm," said Gavin on his first start. "I got to set up my teammates, get a couple of buckets and just do whatever I can to help out the team."
"Overall I had a solid game," continued Gavin. "I did have some nice plays, key passes, a couple of layups and did what coach Parks wanted me to do and I executed it."
"After the Polk loss, I found myself saying a lot of things out loud about when to take shots," said Parks. "If I'm asking D'Moi (Hodge) to pass the ball more, then other guys need to be ready to shoot and need to get into the gym and making shots."
"Mike (Gavin) is probably the only person on this team that has not gotten a fair chance," said Parks on staring Gavin. "It's not because he did anything wrong, it's because I have 200 minutes in the game and I have to figure out where to disperse those 200 minutes and when you have players like D'Moi Hodge, who take up a fifth of those minutes every single night, it doesn't leave a lot of minutes from the guards standpoint. Mike has all the tools to be a threat offensively. He's got very good range and can create his own shot, but he is also a sneaky passer. Not many can realize that he can pass, especially when he made a pass to D'Moi in the corner, which was beautiful. I'm happy he stepped up regardless and keep going with him."
Freshman Jordan Clark rounded out the lineup with 11 points (3-for-8 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 4-for-7 FT), one rebound, six assists and two steals.
Despite injuring his ankle and not being able to finish the rest of the game, sophomore Isiah Dasher was still able to finish with five points (2-for-6 FG, 1-for-3 3PT), one rebound, two assists and a steal.
Sophomores Max Bell-Ramos (two points and two rebounds) and Remy Robert II (one rebound). Bell-Ramos was one of the only two players off the bench to score (Scarborough was the other).
For the Titans, four players scored in double figures. Freshman Damon Davis led the way with 21 points and seven steals before fouling out in the second half. Sophomore Kobie Johnson followed with 17 points and four rebounds, while classmate Bryan Williams added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Keondre Jackson rounded out the lineup with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng was held to five points but added 13 rebounds, while classmate Jaylen Bates was the only player off the bench that scored as he had five points.
The game started with Gavin opening the scoreboard with a layup off of a steal and assist by Hodge which was then followed by a Dasher 3-pointer for a 5-0 lead until a 3-pointer by Johnson opened the gates for the Titans and soon a layup by Jackson gave the Titans a 7-5 lead.
For the remaining 15 minutes, both teams went back and forth tying and regaining the lead. In the final possession of the first half, Hodge was fouled at the 3-point and made a successful 3-pointer but was unable to convert the and-one as the Titans took the lead in the first half 36-35.
"Parks got on me about being a good player," said Kearing on halftime. "He said he was going to make me play outside and show my true talent when I play and that helped me realize how I was suppose to play to my potential."
At the start of the second quarter, Dasher gave the Manatees the lead with a mid-range shot before both teams yet again exchanged ties and lead changes throughout the game and then around 13 minutes left in the game, Dasher injured his ankle and did not return for the rest of the game.
"Zay (Dasher) is a really tough individual," said Parks on Dasher. "I can tell on his face that he's hurt because if he wasn't hurt, he would have enjoyed this more, but I know he was hurt and I know he wasn't enjoying this win as much because he's worried he does not when he's going to be back."
*Side Note: This led to the Manatees turnaround of when one of the key players gets hurt, they retaliate by fighting for that key players.
Around 10 minutes, with the score 53-52 SCF, Kearing would make a big block before the Titans tried to take advantage off a steal by Davis only to be chase blocked by Hodge. After a Jackson rebound and put back attempt, it was blocked by Gavin.
"We had to lock in defensively," said Gavin on the turnaround of the game. "We were going back and forth with St. Pete and then we focused in a couple plays, got a couple of buckets and stops that gave us a little breathing room at the end for the win."
Even with Dasher out, Parks was able to utilize his big men in Kearing and Scarborough with their constant rebounding and Hodge adding three free throws, the Manatees were able to get the win for the series.
"The game was a physical and rough game," said Scarborough on the game. "It felt more like a rebounding game though."
Notes:
With his 22 points, Hodge has now pushed his season scoring amount to 599 and 1,196 career points. Hodge is 164 away from breaking the all-time single season record and 145 away from having the most career points in program history. Both records were held by James Life (762, single season; 1,341, career). The double-double was his fourth this season and 11th of his career.
Despite having only five points before getting injured, Dasher now has 901 in his career and is 99 away from reaching 1,000 career points and being the second active player this season to do so.
Parks confirmed that he had signed five players for the next season: Kwo Agwa, Michael Hatcher, DK Kelly, Javon Bell and Hunter Madden.
Other Suncoast Scores:
#2 FSW (23-1, 6-0 Suncoast) defeated Hillsborough (8-12, 0-5 Suncoast) 94-71. The Buccaneers will play SCF February 1 at 4 pm.
Polk State (16-6, 3-2 Suncoast) defeated Impact Academy 107-65. The Eagles will SPC Wednesday night, January 29 at 7 pm.
Suncoast Standings:
1. #2 FSW (23-1, 6-0 Suncoast)
2. SCF (18-6, 4-2 Suncoast)
3. Polk State (16-6, 3-2 Suncoast)
4. SPC (10-13, 1-5 Suncoast)
5. HCC (8-12, 0-5 Suncoast)
Up Next:
The Manatees will return on the road for Suncoast play as they travel to Tampa to take on Hillsborough Wednesday night, January 29 at 7 pm.
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