2nd Herd Readies for St. Pete

The SCF basketball team (15-4, 1-0 Suncoast) will test Suncoast play on the road as they travel to St. Petersburg to take on St. Pete College (9-9, 0-1 Suncoast) Wednesday night, January 8 at 7 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees opened 2020 and Suncoast Conference play at home as they faced Polk State winning by a nail-biting score of 78-72.

As a result of the win the Manatees, who were ranked at #8 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll, bumped up to #6.

Soon-to-be 1,000 Brothers:
The sophomore duo of D'Moi Hodge and Isiah Dasher are attempting to reach 1,000 career points as active members for the season.

Hodge is averaging 27.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. Against Polk State, the two-time NJCAA National Player of the Week and five-time NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week had 27 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block against Polk State. Currently, Hodge has 1,086 career points and 488 points this season. In fact, Hodge is attempting to break two scoring record held by James Life 1. Most points in a single season  (762) and most career points in program history (1,341). Hodge needs 275 points to break Life's single season scoring record and 256 to break Life's all-time scoring record.

Dasher is averaging 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Dasher had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists against Polk State. Dasher is looking to join Hodge and become the second active player to reach 1,000 career points. The native of Jersey City, New Jersey currently has 819 in his career and needs 181 to reach the 1,000 points milestone.

Aside from Dasher and Hodge, the Manatees have provided sparks from freshmen Jordan Clark and Marshall Kearing and redshirt freshman Calvin McCutcheon.

Clark scored 13 points and added three rebounds and three assists against Polk State. Currently, Clark is averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Kearing is averaging 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Kearing had eight points, a season-high seven blocks and a season-high 17 rebounds against Polk State.

McCutcheon is averaging 5.7 points and 3.9 assists per game. McCutcheon tied his season-high with 10 points, while adding two assists.

Manatees' Hand:
Sophomores Chris Scarborough, Max Bell-Ramos and Remy Robert II, redshirt freshman Jaylen Jones and freshmen Sam Grayson and Michael Gavin continue their strong roles as the wild cards.

Although he did not play in the conference opener, Scarborough is still averaging 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Bell-Ramos is averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Bell-Ramos contributed in the game against Polk State with an assist and a steal.

While scoring two points with two assists and two steals against Polk State, Robert II is averaging 4.3 points per game.

While contributing with two rebounds against Polk State, Jones is averaging 5.2 points and 1.4 rebounds.

Despite dealing with knee issues, Grayson is averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Grayson contributed with a steal against Polk State.

Gavin is averaging 5.4 points per game. Gavin had three points and an assist against Polk State.

Scouting SPC:
The Titans opened conference play on the road against #3 Florida Southwestern losing by a score of 92-77 and are in last place in conference.

Sophomore Kobie Johnson leads the team averaging 17.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Johnson had 19 points and three rebounds against FSW.

Freshman Bryan Williams follows along averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while classmate Damon Davis averages 10.8 points and four assists per game. Against FSW, Williams had 16 points, one assist and a steal while Davis had 11 points and four assists.

As far as rebounding, the freshmen duo of Mykal Jenkins (6.9 rebounds) and Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng (6.8 rebounds per game) lead the way. Jenkins is also averaging 8.6 points and 1.7 blocks per game, while Bayi Ba Mandeng is averaging 6.5 points per game. While Jenkins did not play against FSW, Bayi Ba Mandeng had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Series History (2012-present):
Overall, the Manatees are 6-20 against the Titans. Last season, the Manatees claimed the series over the Titans 2-1 winning game one 91-82 and game three 81-78. The Titans won game two by a score of 78-70.

How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
SPC: @SPCMBasketball