4th Herd Closes 2021 with Two Losses

 Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (11-7) closed out 2021 with two losses at the SCF Holiday Classic as they fell to Pensacola State (9-7) 83-62 and Seward County CC (7-7, 4-4 KJCCC) 79-77 in overtime Thursday and Friday night. With the losses, the Manatees are now 1-3 against the Pirates and 0-1 against the Saints.

Head Coach Tom Parks was unavailable for comments on both games.

SCF vs Pensacola:

Prior to SCF playing Pensacola, Seward County CC played against Polk State (10-5) in an earlier game where they lost by a score of 77-69.

Throughout the entire game, it was all in the favor of the Pirates as they controlled the majority of the game. While the Manatees tried to get a few offensive sparks in the second half, it was not enough as the Pirates would seal the deal with a win.

Three players scored in double figures for the Manatees. It was sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers that lead the way as he finished with 18 points (6-for-11 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 5-for-7 FT), four rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. Freshman Ametri Moss would follow with 15 points (5-for-10 FG, 1-for-4 3PT, 4-for-4 FT) and one rebound, while classmate Jacari White rounded out the order with 12 points (5-for-13 FG, 2-for-5 3PT), four rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Sophomore Clarence Cummings III and freshman Cobey Harraway each finished with eight points. Cummings III (1-for-7 FG, 6-for-7 FT) added four rebounds and one block, while Harraway (2-for-9 FG, 2-for-4 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) added three rebounds and one assist.

Sophomores Javon Bell (one steal) and Darik Tannis-Harriet (two rebounds) and freshmen Ronnail Tape (six rebounds), Pierre-Gabriel Gouffran (one point, three rebounds and two assists) and Sam Faraday (one rebound) also contributed in the game.

For the Pirates, Zondrick Garrett lead the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Naim Miller added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and Jarveil Gainey and Truth Harris each had 14 points. Gainey added six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while added two rebounds and four assists.

SCF vs Seward County:

Prior to SCF’s game, Polk State would defeat Pensacola State 62-59 in their second game.

The first half saw the Manatees off to a very slow start as they were down on a 7-0 Seward run in the first two minutes until a Faraday 3-pointer gave the Manatees their first points of the game. As Parks tried to strategize the team to get points on the board, White and Moss would answer the call as they would secure several 3-point shots in success. The Saints would eventually take the first half 35-31.

The Manatees would not give up as White, Moss and Weathers answered the call to get the Manatees an opportunity to try and get the win. Eventually, the Manatees tied the game at 69 a piece. With less than 10 seconds in the second half, White would try to get the Manatees the win with a 3-point attempt, but it would not go in and would send the game to overtime.

Overtime turned out to be the dagger as the Saints hit the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left and claimed the win.

Three Manatees scored in double figures. It was White that lead the Manatees offensively as he finished with a game-high 23 points (8-for-15 FG, 5-for-9 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Moss would follow with a season-high 22 points (7-for-14 FG, 4-for-78 3PT, 4-for-6 FT), three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, while Weathers rounded out the order with 14 points (4-for-10 FG, 6-for-10 FT) three rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.

Harraway (nine points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals), Cummings III (six points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks), Faraday (three points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block) and Bell (five rebounds, one assist, four steals and one block) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

With his 32 total points combined in both games, Weathers now has 722 in his career and 334 this season. He needs 278 to reach 1,000 career points and needs 472 to break the single season points record held by D’Moi Hodge (805, 2018-20)

The Manatees were without sophomores Kwo Agwa and Christian Nieto. Agwa was not in the starting lineup as he was handling personal issues. Nieto was also handling personal issues.

Head assistant coach Travis Nesby was also not with the team as he tested positive for COVID-19.

Up Next:

2021 has ended and the Manatees will now set their sights on 2022 and Southern Conference play. They will open on the road against Miami Dade College (7-7) Wednesday night, January 5, 2022.

SCF Tennis Opens Season at Home

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF tennis team will open the 2022 season at home as they welcome Southeastern University (NAIA) to the SCF Tennis Complex Friday afternoon, February 4 at 4:30 pm.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees come off finishing last season 1-8 overall with a 0-6 record in the Region 8 Standings. They would compete in the FCSAA State Tournament in San Lando where they would secure an automatic bid to qualify for the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament in Mesa, Arizona. They would finish in the Top 10 (T-7th) from there.

The Manatees are lead by head coach Chloe Murphy, who enters her fifth year as head coach for the team. She is joined by assistant coach Erin Bryce.

Key Losses, New Gains, Big Returns:

The Manatees will be without Alexis Booker, Mackenzie Vraspir, Britain 'Brie' Botsford, Allie Beck and Karla Menendez. Botsford (Savannah College of Art and Design (NAIA)) and Menendez (University of West Georgia (NCAA DII)) have decided to continue playing tennis collegiately.

Murphy was able to land five newcomers to join the team: Jessica Bustamante, Kathrin Didovich, Carlota 'Carly' Gascon Martinez, Jenna Gusto, Natalia Vuckovic and Sakurako Suzuki. Gascon Martinez joined the Manatees as a sophomore transfer from Eastern Florida State, while Suzuki joined the team during the spring semester.

All four returners for the Manatees are coming back: Kia Carvalho-Landell, Sarah Forsyth, Luna Mouton and Lou De Freitas Bonet.

Carvalho-Landell has been one of the key benefactors of the team after becoming runner-up in the state tournament at #5 singles and even went as far as semifinals of the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament. She is likely to move up from #5 singles to #2 singles.

National Ranking:

In mentioning of Carvalho-Landell and Gascon Martinez, the sophomore duo is ranked #4 in the nation after their strong performances in the ITA Regionals in St. Pete (Runner-up) and the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia (semifinalists). Additonally, Carvalho-Landell and Gascon Martinez were ranked in NJCAA Top 5 in singles action (#30: Carvalho-Landell; #33: Gascon Martinez).

De Freitas Bonet is ranked #12 in the NJCAA Top 50 in singles and ranked #17 in the NJCAA Top 25 in doubles with Forsyth.

Scouting Southeastern:

The Lady Flames are lead by head coach Drew Dickens, who enters his fourth season as head coach and coming off finishing last season 5-7 overall with a 2-4 record in the Sun Conference. They did not qualify for the Sun Conference Tournament or NAIA National Tournament.

Dickens will bring back the majority of the entire roster which includes sophomore Abigail Damon and junior Beatrice Letizia. Both Damon and Letizia had seven wins in dual singles action. In fact, they were the only two players that had more wins than loss on their singles records.

Series History:

The series between SCF and Southeastern is tied at 1-1.

Fans can keep up with the SCF tennis team on their Twitter: @TennisSCF

4th Herd Closes Final Home Games of 2021

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (11-5) will look to close out 2021 with their final two non-conference games of the season at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. The Manatees will welcome Pensacola State (8-6) Wednesday night, December 29 and Seward County CC (6-6, 4-4 KJCCC DI) Thursday night, December 30. Both games will start at 7 pm.

This will be the first time the Manatees play Seward and the fourth against Pensacola (Pensacola is 3-0 against the Manatees).

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of two straight home games after a stressful road weekend previously as they defeated St. Pete College 88-65 before upsetting then #18 Santa Fe College 99-84. It was the third time this season that the Manatees upset an NJCAA Top 25 Team and the fifth time overall in program history. They had two earlier wins over South Georgia State (then #21) and Georgia Highlands (then #24).

Record Breaker:

Sophomore James ‘Pop’ Weathers continues his offensive game in his role as point guard. Weathers is currently averaging 18.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. In the last two home games, he had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists against SPC and a double-double of 18 points, 11 assists rebounds and five rebounds against Santa Fe.

Additionally, Weathers currently has 672 career points and needs 328 to reach 1,000 career points. Furthermore, he has 302 points this season and could possibly break the record for most points in a single season, a record that has been held by the all-time leader in points D'Moi Hodge (805, 2018-20), but he'll need 504 more points this season to do so.

Returning Role:

After the departure of Djordje Gobovic, sophomore Kwo Agwa quietly made his way back to the starting lineup in a new role. Agwa is currently averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. The Calgary, Alberta native had two straight double-doubles against SPC and Santa Fe where he scored a career-high 23 points with 10 rebounds and five blocks against SPC and scored 13 points with a career-high 14 rebounds and six blocks.

Four Wild:

Freshmen Jacari White and Cobey Harraway have been playing key parts in their roles of the rotation. White is averaging 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Harraway is averaging 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. In the last two home games, White averaged 19 points and five rebounds per game, which included a season-high 24 points against Santa Fe, while Harraway, despite being held to five points against Santa Fe, averaged nine points, two rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Additionally, classmate Ametri Moss and sophomore Clarence Cummings III have also played key parts in the starting lineup. Moss is averaging 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while Cummings III is averaging 8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Moss averaged 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and three assists per game in the last two games, while Cummings III averaged eight points, 6.5 rebounds, five assists and three steals per game.

Welcome Back:

Sophomore Javon Bell returned to the rotation after serving a six-game suspension for academics. Bell, who played against Santa Fe, had 14 points, three rebounds and one block. Currently, the Lakeland native is averaging 9.7 points, three rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game after his return.

Scouting Pensacola:

The Pirates are coming off of competing and splitting in the two-day Panhandle Classic at Chipola College where they fell to Jones College (66-39) before defeating Gadsden State Community College (60-48). They were on a four-game losing streak before defeating Gadsden State.

Freshmen Zondrick Garrett and Truth Harris lead the Pirates offensively. Garrett is averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, while Harris averages 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 4.9 assists per game. 

Scouting Seward County:

Seward County CC represents NJCAA Region VI (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC)) and hail from Liberal, Kansas. They are lead by head coach Rylee Hernandez, who enters his second season as head coach for the team.

The Saints are coming off of a loss against Garden City CC (96-83) before getting wins over Cowley College (66-56) and Northwest Kansas Tech (73-61). They will play Polk State (8-5) at 5:30 pm Wednesday night, December 29 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium prior to playing SCF.

Freshman Erik Pratt leads the Saints as he is averaging 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, while classmates Taye Donald (10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg and 2.2 spg), Kevin Cooper (10.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg) and Wilson Dubinsky (12.1 ppg and 1.3 spg) follow along with Pratt.

How to Keep Up:

Both games will air on the SCF Sports Network page and fans can keep up with both games on the SCF Manatees or SCF Basketball Twitter pages.

SCF Athletics: @SCFManatees

SCF Basketball: @SCF_Basketball

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

4th Herd Sends #18 Santa Fe Marching with Upset Win

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (11-5) got a much needed revenge rematch Saturday afternoon at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as they upset #18 Santa Fe College (10-2) 99-84. With the win, the Manatees are now 5-13 against the Saints.

“It feels really good to get the win, but more importantly it feels good how we won,” said head coach Tom Parks. "I thought we did a really good job playing together and stuck to our defensive game plan, even though they scored 84 points, despite them being a high-scoring team. I thought some of the stuff we worked on offensively in a very short amount of time looked really good today and I thought we caught them off-guard in some areas, so I'm just proud that are guys really put a lot into the game plan while we prepped it for a day. We really wanted to focus on St. Pete this past Thursday, so we only focused on Santa Fe for a day where we watched film yesterday, had a good shoot around today, but it was just nice to see us take the right process and come out with a win."

"It felt really good to get the win over Santa Fe," said freshman Jacari White. "When we played them at their place, we weren't as together as we played today, and we really showed them how we scored when we almost hit 100 points and that really showed the team what we had."

The first half saw the Manatees gain an early 10-4 lead with sophomore Kwo Agwa getting eight rebounds in the first half, but soon there were several ties and lead changes between the two teams with the Saints taking the lead by as much as 12 points, but the Manatees would eventually would tie the game before the Saints took the first half 44-42.

The second half saw in the favor of the Manatees and after careful tweaks in plays on both ends of the floor, the Manatees took advantage of several scoring opportunities behind the 3-point line, thanks to White and sophomore Javon Bell, and strong offensive rebounding by Agwa. In the end, after a final 3-point shot by Bell, the Manatees were able to seal the deal and get the win to split the series with the Saints.

Six Manatees scored in double figures with two getting a double-double. It was White that lead the Manatees offense as he finished with a season-high 24 points (7-for-10 FG, 6-for-7 3PT, 4-for-4 FT), five rebounds, two assists and a block.

"I just had confidence in my work on the court," said White on his game. "I get in the gym late night and just kept shooting and it really showed today."

"Jacari is a really good basketball player," said Parks on White. "I think when you have a player like 'Pop', who has the ball in his hands a lot, you kind of get stuck watching 'Pop', but Jacari did a really good job getting his feet ready to shoot. He's a microwave and can heat up really fast and when he makes a couple of baskets, he can roll off five or six in a row, so I wasn't surprised because I coach him every day, but I'm proud of how he performed and I thought overall.

Agwa and sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers would follow behind White with a double-double each. Awga had 13 points (5-for-10 FG, 3-for-4 FT), 14 rebounds (seven offensive), two assists and six blocks, while Weathers had 18 points (5-for-9 FG, 3-for-5 3PT, 5-for-5 FT), 11 assists, five rebounds and one block.

"Pop did a really good job getting his teammates involved and trusting his teammates' shots," said Parks on Weathers. "If you really lock in on Pop and how he plays when he passes the ball and tells them to shoot, he has a lot of confidence for it when he tries to create plays for his teammates and I think he's really starting to trust his teammates more, which is nice."

"I think Kwo is doing an unbelievable job rebounding on both ends of the floor," said Parks on Agwa. "But I'm very impressed with his rebounding on the offensive end. Kwo is playing outside of his position right now and he's doing an unbelievable job and even though he's outside of his position, he's really good at that spot, but we're continually trying to enhance his game and get him on the perimeter, but it's hard to have someone like that who impacts the game so much around the basket like standing on the 3-point line, but I'm proud of how he responded, even while he's up-and-down in terms of his consistency and it was really nice to see him have his best game as a Manatee on Thursday and then follow it up with a 14-rebound game, which is tough to do."

"What I'm really proud of Kwo honestly is I didn't take him out in the second half and while he suffered a knee injury prior to his signing with us, which took a while for him to get back, he's someone you have to be cautious with how much you play him and he's finally at the point where he feels healthy and a lot better and not as stiff and I'm proud he gave us that effort for 20 minutes, which didn't really fall off. He really played with great energy and effort the entire game."

Bell and freshman Ametri Moss each finished with 14 points. Bell (5-for-14 FG, 4-for-10 3PT) added three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal, while Moss (5-for-12 FG, 2-for-5 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) added four rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Clarence Cummings III would round out the order with 11 points (4-for-9 FG, 3-for-4 FT), five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

"Coach Parks always tell to not stop shooting the ball," said Bell on his game. "I had to keep letting the ball fly so I can trust it and he can trust it."

Freshmen Cobey Harraway (five points, one assist and one block) and Ronnail Tape (one rebound) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

1. This was the third time this season that the Manatees have upset an NJCAA Top 25 team and the fifth time in program history.

2. Bell returned to the rotation after missing the last six games due to suspension.

"I'm happy I got to be back with the team today," said Bell on his return. "My teammates were even happier to have me back when they were passing me the ball and they kept me going, so everybody eats on offense and I loved it."

"I feel like we've been without Javon so much that I woke up and didn't even think about it," said Parks on Bell's return. "When coach Trav (Nesby) was in my office, he said 'we got number one back' and I was like 'oh shoot that's right, we can play Javon now' and it was nice to look down the bench and put him in the game. He put a ton of work on his jumpshot during the offseason. He had a hitch in his shot before and hats off to coach Trav and Nav (Gill) when he was here to work a lot with our guys during the summer."

"Javon lives in the gym and when he doesn't have a ride, he walks and he'll put countless hours on the shooting machine and when he doesn't use it, he follow up with his rebounding and get it back at the three. He worked hard on his three this year and I'm proud he could come back like that and go in the break with some confidence."

3. Weathers' 18 points put him at 672 and needs 328 to reach 1,000 career points.

4. This was Agwa's second straight double-double and his rebounds (both total and offensive) and total blocks were both career-highs.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

#6 Indian River State (12-2) were upset by Polk State (8-4) losing by a score of 86-84. The Pioneers will face Florida State College at Jacksonville (0-5) Wednesday night, December 15.

#25 FSW (10-2) defeated Gulf Coast State (9-4) 68-61. The Buccaneers will face Polk State on the road Wednesday night, December 15.

Miami Dade (7-6) defeated Barry University JV 102-64. The Sharks will face St. Pete (4-7) Saturday afternoon, December 18.

Hillsborough (5-6) fell to Polk State 75-73 this past Wednesday. The Hawks will host St. Pete Tuesday night, December 14.

Remaining Southern Conference Non-Conference Schedule:

12/14:

HCC vs SPC

12/15:

#6 Indian River State vs Florida State College at Jacksonville

#25 FSW vs Polk State

12/16:

#6 Indian River State vs North Florida Prep

12/18:

HCC @ RV Albany Tech

Miami Dade @ SPC

12/29:

Miami Dade @ ASA Miami

#25 FSW vs Illinois Central

12/30:

Miami Dade vs Illinois Central

#25 FSW vs ASA Miami

#6 Indian River State vs #15 Shelton State

HCC @ #18 Santa Fe

12/31:

#6 Indian River State vs Southern Union State

1/3/22:

Miami Dade @ Florida Memorial JV

1/4/22:

#25 FSW vs 212 Academy

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to close 2021 with two more wins in non-conference play as they welcome Pensacola State (8-6) Wednesday night, December 29 and Seward County CC (5-7) Thursday night, December 30. Seward County will play Polk State Wednesday afternoon, December 29 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium prior to playing SCF.

4th Herd Takes Sweep over SPC

Bradenton, Fla - After struggling this past weekend, the SCF basketball team (10-5) were able to snap their skid as they defeated St. Pete College (4-7) 88-65 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium Thursday night. With the win, the Manatees swept the Titans and are now 15-19 overall (2012-present).

“It feels really good to get a win tonight against St. Pete,” said head coach Tom Parks. "I just feel like St. Pete is one of those teams that can prepare you for a toughness test. They are very tough and very scrappy and never stop playing. If you can blow it open late in the second half, it speaks volumes to our guys. St. Pete doesn't let people get those kind of large leads and obviously going against coach (Earnest) Crumbley, someone who I have a ton of respect for and look up to as a coach and human being who process-oriented in doing things the right way, it means a lot."

"Overall I feel like we always talk about we're going against ourselves. We had a lot of issues lately trying to score the ball against man and zone defense, in which SPC showed a little bit of both and I thought we did a good job. We started off slow and that's what we have been doing a lot offensively, which was fairly new and so it was nice to take after those first six to figure it out and score more baskets to where we can reach the high 80s, 90s and hopefully break 100s in those games as long we be a little bit more in attack mode offensively."

“It felt pretty good to get the sweep over SPC tonight, especially against a great hall of fame coach,” said sophomore James ‘Pop’ Weathers. "We knew the type of players he was going to put on the court and had it all figured out. We came out a little slow in the first half and we called timeout so we can talk about what we needed to do to pick up the pace. Once the second half started, we hit 52 points and played pretty well."

“I feel like we were supposed to beat them earlier and it was a hard fought game,” said sophomore Kwo Agwa. "We executed to the end and it was good that we got the win. We did have a few hiccups, but we got the job done and that was a pretty good win at the end of the day."

“It felt great, especially going into Saturday's game against Santa Fe for revenge,’ said freshman Cobey Harraway. "We can just tell that we have improved compared to the first game against St. Pete as it was really close. Tonight, we took the lead, ran with it in the second half and kept our foot on their neck and didn't let up, so it felt good to get the win."

"Overall, we started off slow in 10 minutes of the first half, but we started to pick it up and scored 16 points in five minutes and really got it going and the momentum took us into the second half."

The first half was a slow start for the Manatees as they were not shooting the ball as much, but then 16-point run in five minutes helped the team regain their confidence on the floor and pushed their lead up. The Manatees were able to take the first half 36-26.

The second half proved to be the dagger as strong rebounding and putbacks by Agwa, two big 3-pointers by Harraway and freshman Jacari White and dunks by Weathers and freshman Ametri Moss gave the Manatees a big boost in offense as they sealed the deal for the win.

Five Manatees scored in double figures for the game, and it was Agwa that lead the way as he finished with his first double-double of the season as the Calgary native, who made his way back to the starting lineup, had a career-high 23 points (8-for-10 FG, 7-for-7 FT), 10 rebounds (five offensive), one steal and a career-high five blocks.

“I just feel like when I play with more energy, the results speak for themself,” said Agwa on his game. "When the points, rebounds and blocks come when I play hard, I never lose focus on it."

“Statistically, Kwo had a good year as a freshman, but he is capable of so much more,” said Parks on Agwa. "The biggest difference between this year's team and last year's team is we didn't have somebody to hold him accountable, so if he played bad or good, then he still played. When he played good, he helped us win and when he played bad, other guys stepped up even though we still had him on the floor and this year, with our depth, we were able to put Kwo on the bench and that was a big learning moment for him to understand that it didn't matter how he did last year, it was more he had to be consistent this year. While he did not have a ton of opportunities early in the season, when the guy in front of you is doing their job, it's hard to find extra minutes. Overall, I thought he did a good accepting the challenge of playing in a different position around the basket with the departure of Djordje (Gobovic) and I'm just really happy for Kwo because he's someone that can really impact the game in many and I'm happy he took advantage of the opportunity in a new role today."

Weathers would follow Agwa with 20 points (6-for-18 FG, 8-for-10 FT), five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while White finished with 14 points (5-for-11 FG, 2-for-5 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

“I could have shot the ball better,” said Weathers on his game. "Yet at the end of the day, it's still a team win. I found ways to get my teammates involved as well as myself, so with those two elements working together, it helped us get this win."

Harraway finished with 13 points (4-for-7 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 3-for-4 FT), four rebounds, one assist and three steals, while Moss, who was one rebound shy of a double-double, rounded out the order with 10 points (3-for-10 FG, 4-for-4 FT), nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

“It was for sure tough in the first half for me,” said Harraway on his game. "Obviously, I wanted to be good individually, but when the team is up 10 points going into the second half the team always comes first. Obviously, I was held to one point in the first half, which is unlike me, but I told myself in the locker room in my head 'you're good, you're not acting like yourself' and during the second half, I pushed myself to wake up to do what I needed to do to get my offense going."

Sophomores Clarence Cummings III (five points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals) and Darik Tannis-Harriet (one point) and freshmen Ronnail Tape (two points, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal), Sam Faraday (three rebounds) and Pierre-Gabriel Gouffran (one rebound) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

Weathers’ 20 points put him at 654 and needs 346 to reach 1,000 career points.

Up Next:

The Manatees remain at home as they welcome #18 Santa Fe (10-1) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, December 11 at 2 pm.

4th Herd Nearing Closing 2021 at Home

Bradenton, Fla- After another challenging weekend, the #24 SCF basketball team (9-5) return home for four straight games at Hal Chasey Gymnasium to close 2021. The Manatees will first welcome St. Petersburg (4-6) Thursday night December 9, and #18 Santa Fe (10-1) Saturday afternoon, December 11 at 2 pm for the first half of it. The games will be rematches from earlier this season.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of a tough weekend after the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic as they fell to Daytona State (73-72) at home in a rematch via buzzer beater and a lost to then #19/#23 Santa Fe (80-65) on the road.

Popping Up a Storm:

Sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers remains in tact to reach the milestone of 1,000 career points and becoming the second player under Coach Tom Parks' era to do so. Weathers has 634 career points so far and needs 366 to reach the milestone.

Currently, he is averaging 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. During the weekend, Weathers had 44 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Deadman's Hand:

Alongside Weathers, sophomore Clarence Cummings III and freshmen Jacari White, Cobey Harraway, Ametri Moss and Ronnail Tape have played big parts in their roles in the lineup.

Cummings III is averaging 8.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

White is averaging 10 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

Harraway is averaging 11 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Moss is averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and two assists per game.

While he is averaging only 1.7 points per game, Tape continues his strong rebounding as he averaging three rebounds per game.

Scouting St. Pete:

The Titans are coming off of a 88-47 win over Pro Holmes Academy to snap and avoid a losing skid after falling in games against #22 Florida Southwestern (78-51) and Hillsborough (49-48).

Freshman Zane Nelson leads the team averaging 11.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Nelson played off the bench against Pro Holmes Academy where he finished with six points and two rebounds.

Sophomore Martin Mercedes is behind Nelson averaging 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, despite not playing against Pro Holmes Academy.

Scouting Santa Fe:

The Saints are currently ranked #18 in the NJCAA Top 25 polls and are coming off of a beating SCF earlier in the season.

Freshmen Bradley Douglas (15 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game) and Hasan Abdul-Hakim (14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game) lead the path for the Saints on both ends of the floor. Classmate Nicolas McClain (11 points, 5.7 rebounds and two steals per game) also plays a vital role for the Saints.

Series History:

The Manatees are currently 4-13 against the Saints, which includes the earlier loss this season. The last time the Manatees played the Saints was on November 16 and December 7, 2019 by scores of 101-92 and 84-80.

Both games against SPC and Santa Fe will air on the SCF Sports Network.

Links:

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Buzzer-Beater Faulters 4th Herd vs Daytona State

Bradenton, Fla - The #24 SCF basketball team (9-4) were taken in shock against Daytona State (5-6) at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as a buzzer-beater would be the heartbreaker for their 73-72 loss.

The Manatees were at a slow start in the first half as they started to fall behind, primarily with the Falcons putting freshman Djordje Gobovic in early foul trouble. The Manatees would fall behind 35-32 in the first half.

At the start of the second half, the Manatees started to build themselves up as they managed to get their first lead and were up by as much as eight points, but the Falcons started to creep up the score and eventually would get the buzzer-beater by sophomore Reggie Quezada.

Sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers would lead the Manatees offensively, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double. Weathers ended the night with 17 points (4-for-10 FG, 2-for-6 3PT, 7-for-8 FT), nine rebounds and four assists. Harraway would follow with his first collegiate double-double of 15 points (6-for-15 FG, 2-for-9 3PT, 1-for-2 FT) and 11 rebounds. He also added three assists, two blocks and two steals. Freshman Ametri Moss would round out the order with 10 points (4-for-7 FG, 2-for-2 3PT), two rebounds and two assists.

Gobovic would finish with nine points (4-for-9 FG, 1-for-2 FT), four rebounds and two assists before fouling out, while sophomore Clarence Cummings III finished with eight points (3-for-10 FG, 2-for-3 FT), five rebounds, two assists and one steal.

sophomores Kwo Agwa (four points, two rebounds and one assist) and Christian Nieto (one rebound and two steals) and freshmen Jacari White (five points, two rebounds and two assists), Ronnail Tape (one rebound, one assist, one block and one steal), Sam Faraday (two points and one rebound) and Pierre-Gabriel Gouffran (two points and one rebound) also contributed in the game.

Notes:

Weathers' 17 points put him at 607 and needs 393 to reach 1,000 career points.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Hillsborough (5-4) were forced to cancel their scheduled game against Carolina Christian College. The Hawks will welcome Albany Tech Saturday afternoon, December 4.

Weekly Southern Conference Schedule:

12/4:

#7 Indian River State @ Pasco-Hernando State

HCC vs Albany Tech

#22 Florida Southwestern vs Daytona State

Miami Dade @ #24 Eastern Florida State

12/7:

#7 Indian River State @ ASA Miami

12/8:

Miami Dade vs Miami Triple Threat

Hillsborough vs Polk State

12/10:

#22 FSW vs South Georgia Tech @ Gulf Coast State

Miami Dade vs ASA Miami

Up Next:

The Manatees will travel to Gainsville for their next road game as they face #19/#23 Santa Fe College (9-1) Saturday afternoon, December 4 at 2 pm.

SCF Tennis Finalizes Season

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF tennis team has set aside the 2021 season and will look on to the 2022 season and hopefully another trip to nationals.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees come off finishing last season 1-8 overall with a 0-6 record in the Region 8 Standings. They would compete in the FCSAA State Tournament in San Lando where they would secure an automatic bid to qualify for the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament in Mesa, Arizona. They would finish in the Top 10 (T-7th) from there.

The Manatees are lead by head coach Chloe Murphy, who enters her fifth year as head coach for the team. She is joined by assistant coach Erin Bryce.

Key Losses, New Gains, Big Returns:

The Manatees will be without Alexis Booker, Mackenzie Vraspir, Britain 'Brie' Botsford, Allie Beck and Karla Menendez. Botsford (Savannah College of Art and Design (NAIA)) and Menendez (University of West Georgia (NCAA DII)) have decided to continue playing tennis collegiately.

Murphy was able to land five newcomers to join the team: Jessica Bustamante, Kathrin Didovich, Carlota 'Carly' Gascon Martinez, Jenna Gusto and Natalia Vuckovic. Gascon Martinez joined the Manatees as a sophomore transfer from Eastern Florida State.

All four returners for the Manatees are coming back: Kia Carvalho-Landell, Sarah Forsyth, Luna Mouton and Lou De Frietas Bonet.

Carvalho-Landell has been one of the key benefactors of the team after becoming runner-up in the state tournament at #5 singles and even went as far as semifinals of the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament. She is likely to move up from #5 singles to #3 singles. She finished 7-5 in singles action.

National Ranking:

In mentioning of Carvalho-Landell and Gascon Martinez, the sophomore duo was ranked #4 in the nation after their strong performances in the ITA Regionals in St. Pete (Runner-up) and the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia (semifinalists). Carvalho-Landell and Gascon Martinez were also ranked in NJCAA Top 5 in singles action (#30: Carvalho-Landell; #33: Gascon Martinez).

Additionally, De Freitas Bonet was ranked #12 in the NJCAA Top 50 in singles and ranked #17 in the NJCAA Top 25 in doubles with Forsyth.

Schedule Breakdown:

The Manatees will begin with five matches on the road against five NCAA DII teams: Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern, Saint Leo, Embry-Riddle and the University of Tampa. The match against Tampa will be the season opener for the Manatees.

The Manatees will then have their home opener as they welcome NAIA Southeastern University (2/4) before playing another scrimmage against NCAA DII Rollins College.

After the scrimmage with Rollin, the Manatees will open conference play on the road against Eastern Florida State in Melbourne (2/11) before playing their final scrimmage against NCAA DII Flagler College.

They will resume conference play with a road match against Hillsborough (2/18) before returning home to welcome Central Alabama CC (2/22) and resuming conference play on the road against St. Pete (2/25).

The Manatees will then have another break as they will host six straight home matches. Three of the matches will close non-conference play: NAIA Florida National (3/2), Abraham Baldwin (3/11) and the University of West Georgia (3/22).

The Manatees will close conference play with three final home matches against HCC, SPC and Eastern Florida, with the final match being sophomore day for Carvalho-Landell, Mouton, De Freitas Bonet, Forsyth and Gascon Martinez, before closing the season with a scrimmage against NCAA DII Palm Beach Atlantic.

After the regular season, the Manatees will play in states and hopefully nationals afterwards.

4th Herd Set for Challenging Weekend

Bradenton, Fla - After a weekend of upsets and battles, the SCF basketball team (9-3) will split a challenging weekend as they will remain home at Hal Chasey Gymnasium to welcome Daytona State College (5-5) for a rematch Friday night, December 3 at 7 pm before traveling to Gainesville to take on #23 Santa Fe College (8-1) Saturday afternoon, December 4 at 2 pm at the Santa Fe Gymnasium.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of competing and hosting the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic for the last two weekends. In the first half, they traveled to Rome, Georgia for the two-day Dana Davis Classic where they defeated host then RV Georgia Highlands 85-82 before falling to then #4 Chipola College (now #3) by a score of 78-56.

Following the split, the Manatees returned home for the second half of the classic and went 3-0 as they upset then #17 South Georgia Tech (now RV) 103-98 before defeating then RV Georgia Highlands 75-72 and Albany Tech 73-67. As a result, the Manatees were co-champions of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic with then #9 Indian River State (now #7). In fact, SCF and #9 Indian River State were the only team's that were unbeaten in the classic.

In the Polls:

For the first time in years, the Manatees have finally moved up in one of the NJCAA Polls as they were ranked #24 in the NJCAA Men's Basketball Top 25 Media Polls. Additionally, they moved up to #7 in the NJCAA Region 8 Coaches' Poll.

1,000 still Popping:

For James 'Pop' Weathers, he continues his path of reaching 1,000 career points and becoming the second players under the Parks Era to reach the milestone. Weathers has 588 career points and needs 412 for the milestone.

Currently, Weathers is averaging 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. At the Thanksgiving Classic, he had a combined 53 points, 24 rebounds and 14 assists and as a result, he was named the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving All-Classic Team Co-MVP with Indian River State's AJ Cajuste.

Five of a Kind Wild Cards:

Sophomore Clarence Cummings III and freshmen Jacari White, Cobey Harraway, Ametri Moss and Djordje Gobovic have been key benefactors for the depth.

Cummings III is averaging 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and three assists per game. Cummings averaged 9.7 points, six rebounds and four assists during the classic.

White is averaging 10.6 points and four rebounds per game. He averaged 14 points, four and rebounds per game during the classic.

Moss averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the classic. He is currently averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Additionally, Moss joined Weather on the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving All-Classic Team.

Gobovic, one of the key rebounders and shot blockers is averaging 6.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. At the classic, the Serbian averaged nine points, seven rebounds and 1.7 blocks at the classic.

Additionally, another player that has been making his name heard in the rebounding game is freshman Ronnail Tape. Tape, a native of Ft. Myers, is averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. At the classic, he averaged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Scouting Daytona State:

The Falcons are coming off of a 86-60 loss to Tallahassee CC Monday night that snapped their three-game winning streak.

Sophomore Johan Crafoord leads the team offensively as the Iona College transfer is averaging 17.6 points and five rebounds per game. Crafoord had 15 points and two rebounds against TCC.

Classmate Reggie Quezada (14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals) and freshman Ky Stattmann (13.5 points and 2.6 rebounds)also play a big role for the Falcons depth. Against TCC, Quezada had seven points, six rebounds and one steal, while Stattmann had nine points and three rebounds.

Scouting Santa Fe:

The Saints, who are ranked #23 in the NJCAA Top 25 Polls, are coming off an 83-55 win over Central Georgia Tech Friday and will play Hillsborough Wednesday night, December 1, prior to playing SCF.

Freshmen Bradley Douglas (15.8 points, four rebounds and 4.9 assists per game) and Hasan Abdul-Hakim (13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game) lead the path for the Saints on both ends of the floor.

Series History (2011-Present):

The Manatees are currently 1-5 against the Falcons and 4-12 against the Saints. The Manatees earned their first win against the Falcons earlier this season winning by a score of 93-77, while the last time they played the Saints was on November 16 and December 7, 2019 by scores of 101-92 and 84-80.

The game against Daytona State will air on the SCF Sports Network, while the game against Santa Fe will air on the Saints Sports Network.

Links:

SCF vs Daytona State: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

SCF vs Santa Fe: https://www.santafesaints.com/SaintsSportsNetwork

4th Herd Sweeps Thanksgiving Classic

Bradenton, Fla - The Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic comes to a close at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as the SCF basketball team (9-3) finished with a clean sweep after defeating Albany Tech (6-2) 73-67. As a result, the Manatees were named co-champions with #9 Indian River State (10-1), who defeated #17 South Georgia Tech (6-3) 94-82. RV Georgia Highlands (4-5) would upset #7 Eastern Florida State (6-3) 75-70 to wrap up the classic.

“It feels good to go 3-0 against three really good teams,” said head coach Tom Parks. "We wanted to do this classic for many reasons, but I think Georgia was getting sick and tired of hearing how good Florida JUCO basketball is. I think there is some really competitive teams and some of them didn't come to the classic, but I'm really thankful for all the teams that came out in terms of getting those wins."

"The other reason was we wanted to play three games in three days and depending on the year it is, a lot of times in the state tournament you have to win three and three. It gets crazier at the national tournament where you have to win five games in a very short amount of time, depending if you get a bye or not, so we're just trying to do our best to help prepare the guys for a potential postseason run and to be able to have them feel what it's like to play three games in three days, know how to recover, treat your body and do what you have to do to make sure you're ready for the next day and I thought our guys did a really good job at being prepared, studying the scouting reports for a very quick turnaround, so it feels good to end up with three wins in three days."

“It felt good,” said freshman Jacari White. "We had some momentum going in and coming off and it felt great to play as a team. We came out a little slow in the game tonight and we need to try and break that cycle from the last three games, but overall we came back, played defense and we got stops when we needed them to get the win."

“Today's game was a tough one,” said freshman Ametri Moss. "They (Albany Tech) are a good team and we had to come out with intensity, which we did in the second half. We didn't let our foot off the brakes and we just got the victory tonight."

"Out of all the games from the tournament, I was really concerned on this one particularly," said Parks on facing Albany Tech. "I think Albany Tech came in as a team that didn't have much notoriety in recognition or rankings, compared to Georgia Highlands, who was receiving votes in the national polls. Obviously, South Georgia Tech came in as the #17 team in the country. People thought that Albany Tech is an afterthought because if you watch them play for a few possessions the very first game, they're a very good team and very well-coached and you can just tell with certain teams where they're on the same page when we play for each other. Albany Tech is a very selfless team that did things offensively and defensively that showed how together they were and they never stopped playing, so for that game to be the third one, and potentially one of the toughest games we played against a scrappy team that doesn't quit, is always scary, so it felt good to get the win over them."

In the first half, the Manatees got off to a slow start and were constantly battling with lead changes and ties, but after a few changes in plays the Manatees were able to take the first half 34-31.

The second half proved to be much edgier for the Manatees as they battled to keep the lead in their favor and after modifications to their plays and defense, the Manatees were able to seal the deal and claim the sweep.

"It felt good being co-champions, especially when we're hosting it," said Moss. "It's a big accomplishment for us and I feel like it will put us out there when we went 3-0 against the top teams in Georgia, so I felt like it was a great opportunity for us and the program."

Five players scored in double figures for the Manatees. Sophomore James ‘Pop’ Weathers would lead the way with 19 points (5-for-14 FG, 1-for-4 3PT, 8-for-10 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one block. White would follow with 15 points (5-for-11 FG, 4-for-8 3PT, 1-for-1 FT), four rebounds and one block off the bench. In fact, White was the only Manatee to score off the bench.

"I just had a lot of confidence tonight," said White on his game. "I just kept shooting and knew my ability to make shots and that's what I did."

"Jacari is a special player and he is very talented," said Parks on White. "He's another freshman that is learning every day, but the beautiful thing about him is he plays such good defense that we need him on the court late in the game to finish games and he's someone who makes mistakes but plays through them and learn from them. He's good as well as he shoots the ball, even though he started off shooting slow and I told him to stick with it and he's being hitting the gym a lot more, but the biggest thing with him is his on-ball defense and defensive intensity is on another level and him and 'Pop' really play well off each other from the defensive end and get each other going, which is really nice compared to last year where we didn't have any elite defenders and Jacari likes taking on that role with a lot of pride, which is really cool."

Freshman Djorde Gobovic and sophomore Clarence Cummings III would each finish with 11 points. Gobovic (5-for-9 FG, 1-for-2 FT) added eight rebounds and one block, while Cummings III added three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

"We still have to keep figuring out way to incorporate Goba offensively," said Parks on Gobovic. "He's similar to Marshall Kearing in a sense of a unique skill set, and as a coach they are different and I have to adjust how to play in order for him to get touches to be successful. He's successful on the block, but he can also do special things on the perimeter and play through some mistakes, but he's a competitor. The thing about Goba is he doesn't care who he plays against. You can bring in the Los Angeles Lakers and he would be fired up and not scared at all with a different mentality about him, so when we play a physically opposing team he gets fired up, which I love, and he gets guys going, he's goofy, fun and plays hard."

Moss would round out the order with 10 points (4-for-10 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 1-for-2 FT), four rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.

"I felt like I had a good game, even if I started slow," said Moss on his game. "I picked it up in the second half where my team needs me and that's how it went tonight."

"The thing with Meech is that he is learning so much right now and is getting better every single game," said Parks on Moss. "People don't know how good he is and he is special and works really hard on the defensive end and I can appreciate that. He wasn't always pushed that way in high school and had some bad habits coming in, primarily from the defensive side and he wants to be on the floor and learns as quick as possible so he can more. He went from someone who would finish one game on the season for us in terms of being at the end of the game to finishing the last four for us."

Sophomore Kwo Agwa (two rebounds and one assist) and freshmen Cobey Harraway (eight points, three rebounds, one block and four steals) and Ronnail Tape (five rebounds and one assist) also contributed in the game.

For the Titans, sophomore Jalen Nesmith lead the way offensively with 26 points and five assists and two rebounds, while classmate John Egbuta followed with 15 points and six rebounds and Zeff Felton lead with 12 rebounds and five blocks to go along with six points.

Final Classic Standings:

#9 Indian River State (3-0)

SCF (3-0)

#7 Eastern Florida (1-2)

RV Georgia Highlands (1-2)

Albany Tech (1-2)

#17 South Georgia Tech (0-3)

Notes:

The inaugural Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving All-Classic Team was later named with 12 players (two from each team) as listed:

Marvin McGhee III (South Georgia Tech)

Jalen Reynolds (South Georgia Tech)

Christian Jackson (Georgia Highlands)

TJ Porter (Georgia Highlands)

Jalen Nesmith (Albany Tech)

John Egbuta (Albany Tech)

AJ Cajuste (Indian River State) Co-All-Classic MVP

Bendji Pierre (Indian River State)

Brody Boyer (Eastern Florida State)

Justin Reid (Eastern Florida State)

James 'Pop' Weathers (SCF) Co-All-Classic MVP

Ametri Moss (SCF)

With his 19 points, Weathers now has 588 in his career and need 412 to reach 1,000 career points.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Miami Dade (4-4) would fall to #12 Northwest Florida State (8-1) 78-56. The Sharks will play #4 Chipola College (7-1) Sunday afternoon in Niceville.

Hillsborough (5-3) defeated St. Pete (3-6) 49-48. The Hawks will take on Santa Fe College (8-1) Wednesday night, December 1.

Upcoming Southern Conference Schedule:

11/30:

RV Florida Southwestern vs Polk State

12/1:

Hillsborough @ Santa Fe

12/4:

#9 Indian River State @ Pasco-Hernando State

Hillsborough vs Albany Tech

RV FSW vs Daytona State

Miami Dade @ #7 Eastern Florida State

Up Next:

The Manatees return to action next weekend as they face Daytona State (4-5) at home Friday night, December 3 at 7 pm before heading on the road to Gainesville to take on RV Santa Fe College (8-1) Saturday afternoon, December 4 at 2 pm.

4th Herd Takes Deja Vu Rematch at Classic

Bradenton, Fla - Day two of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic ended in a similar point margin for the SCF basketball team (7-3) as they defeated Georgia Highlands (3-5) 75-72. With the win, the Manatees are now 2-0 against the Chargers and 4-1 against teams from Georgia.

“I think it'd be really easy for people to look at Georgia Highland's record and not really dig into who they played,” said head coach Tom Parks. “Talking to JJ (Merritt), who is a good friend of mine, he said last year, their strength in schedule was weak down the stretch and wanted to play a tougher schedule, so I don't think people realize how good Georgia Highlands is. They have seven players that have played NCAA Division I basketball, so it definitely feels good to beat a team twice. We knew it was going to be a hard win based on the fact that they controlled 36 of the 40 minutes throughout the game last time and we made a push at the end to win the game, so to be able to be on the winning side is unbelievable, but it was also nerve racking, so it was fun to come out on top.”

"It was an up-and-down game," said sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers. "We started off slow being down 14 to 2 in the first half and we have started slow plenty of times, but we knew that we can bounce back from it and come back strong and that's what we did today."

"It feels good," said freshman Ametri Moss. "Georgia Highlands is a good team and we just started off slow and had to pick up the pace and intensity in the second half with our defense became a big part of the win at the end and it all came together as a team."

"It is great to be 2-0 to start the Thanksgiving Classic," said sophomore Clarence Cummings III. "Today's game was kind of rough and we almost blew it, but we kept fighting as a team and it got us this win."

"We beat once at their place and we knew they were going to come at us," said freshman Ronnail Tape. "We knew they were coming in on a three-game losing streak. They were off to a fast start and we were down 14-4. It was the same like the game at their place, so we kind of expected it as the game went and we had to bring ourselves back to match up against them. Overall, it was a great game for both teams as we both fought hard, but it was us that came out on top to get the win."

At the second half, the Manatees would once again get off to a slow start and their chances of getting a lead started to dwindle, but the 4th Herd continued to fight and eventually took a 10-point lead for the next seven minutes before the Chargers started to come back and cut the deficit to single digits.

With less than one minute left, the Chargers inbounded the ball and were on the path of scoring a third straight bucket, but Tape would take a charge that would be the key play to give the Manatees a chance to keep their lead. 

"Although there was some traffic where I couldn't see what was happening and seeing Ronnail take the charge and get use to it and get up from it shows how hard he worked on taking charges," said Parks on Tape taking the game-winning charge.

After freshman Jacari White would hit the final two free throws, the Chargers would miss their final opportunity to tie the game to 75 apiece as the Manatees would seal the deal for the win and sweep over the Chargers.

"I get confused a lot because the depth of our team is better than what we had before," said Parks on the team. "We got guys that can come in off the bench and lead us in scoring. Pop (Weathers) and Cobey (Harraway) have had some big scoring games and Meech (Moss) has had games where he scored between 15 to 18 points and Clarence (Cummungs III), Jacari (White) and Djordje (Gobovic) have had some good scoring games. Kwo (Agwa) and Von (Bell) has had some of those games too, so it's kind of fun from an offensive standpoint. You have to guard every single guy we have on the floor and they all have played with a lot of confidence, which is fun to watch. I obviously have a ton of belief in everyone on our roster, but it's nice to see them really start to be like 'I'm a very good basketball player with the demeanor as I am and I'm going to play with confidence, free and make plays', so I thought the last two days, we had a chip on our shoulder and we kind of came out with that confidence despite the slow start today, but I feel like overall we weren't rattled and said to ourselves that we just need to relax and settle in for a bit."

It felt good to get the win," said Weathers on the game. "I have a lot of respect for them. They have a lot of good players that don't mess around, so it felt to get two wins off of them and build from it as a confidence booster."

Four players scored in double figures. Weathers would lead the way with 18 points (8-for-12 FG, 1-for-2 FT), four rebounds, six assists and one steal.

“I knew I had to come back from trapping the ball and play different,” said Weathers on his game. “I was passing the ball more and being more smarter with it and the team did as well and we just formed it together.”

White would follow with 16 points (6-for-14 FG, 2-for-10 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), three rebounds, two assists and one steal, while Moss added 15 points (5-for-11 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 4-for-6 FT), six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

"I felt like I started off slow and I had to pick it up in the second half," said Moss on his game. "I felt like my team was there for me and picked me up and I knew I had to be there for them to get this win."

Cummings III would round out the order with his second double-double of 11 points (4-for-8 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 1-for-2 FT) and 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

“It was a solid game for me,” said Cummings III on his game. "It should have been a full game instead of it being one half or one-sided, but it was a solid game overall."

Tape would finish with five points (2-for-2 FG, 1-for-1 FT) and five rebounds.

"I just tried to do what I needed to do," said Tape on his game. "Last time, we had a ton of rebounds on us and I wanted to make sure that I get plenty of the rebounds to help us win this close of a game."

"When we recruited Ronnail, Nav (Gill) told me about it and when he showed me his highlights from his senior year of high school, the first minute is him catching lobs and dunking. The next minute is literally him taking charges," said Parks on Tape. "Most people don't put taking charges on their highlight tapes and I was sold on him two minutes into his highlight tape and was like 'ok, he took 15 charges and I got to get him'. It's great to have talented guys that can do things like score and rebound, but when you have someone being able to sacrifice their own body for the team is unbelievable."

"I don't think people realize how good Ronnail is. He has been out with a hamstring injury for the majority of the preseason and the tough part about him is he make his money out of playing hard and out-competing people while questioning his hamstring up until a week and a half ago and even when he was practicing, he would be very reserved to push off of it and jump. Now he's at the point where he feels good to play through it and be use to what he does, so it was nice to see him do that."

Sophomore Kwo Agwa (three points, three rebounds and one block) and freshmen Cobey Harraway (four points, five rebounds, two assists and one block), Djordje Gobovic (three points, two rebounds, two blocks and one steal) and Sam Faraday (one rebound) also contributed in the game.

Sophomore TJ Porter lead the Chargers with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Jayvis Harvey followed with 17 points and six rebounds. Porter and Harvey were the only two Chargers that scored in double figures.

Notes:

Prior to SCF playing, #7 Eastern Florida State (6-2) defeated #17 South Georgia Tech (6-2) 90-63. Following EFSC’s win, #9 Indian River State (9-1) would defeat Albany Tech (6-1) 85-77.

With his 18 points, Weathers moves to 569 in career and needs 431 to reach 1,000 career points.

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic as they face Albany Tech Saturday evening at 6 pm.

Before the SCF vs Albany Tech game, #9 Indian River State will play #17 South Georgia Tech at 2 pm and will be followed by #7 Eastern Florida State playing RV Georgia Highlands at 4 pm.

4th Herd Opens Classic with Upset OT Win!!!

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (7-3) opened up day one of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic at Hal Chasey Gymnasium in success as they upset #17 South Georgia Tech (5-1) 103-98 in overtime.

"It felt good to get the win and play  at home," said head coach Tom Parks. "South Georgia Tech is a really talented team and they can score a lot of points. They have some very talented players and some really good role pieces that they can fill in the gaps and can also play if one of their guys is down. It felt good knowing that it was an upset win and I thought going into it, we were the better team, despite the poll being early, but I'm glad that we beat the #17 team in the country and I thought it was nice to open the Thanksgiving Classic with a win and go eat a nice meal."

"I thought it was a game of runs and I thought we had time where we were really good and run away with it, but I watched a lot of film on South Georgia Tech where got behind in multiple games and crawled back. I thought our guys persevered and when we were down by three in overtime, I thought they battled back with big plays, rebounds and stops that really mattered. Overall, I thought we played really well as a team with a lot of guys stepping up."

Prior to SCF's game, #7 Eastern Florida State (5-2) would get upset by Albany Tech (6-0) in the opening game by a score of 61-51. After EFSC's loss, #9 Indian River State (8-1) would defeat RV Georgia Highlands (3-2) by a score of 94-82.

In the first half, the Manatees got off to a good start from an offensive runs by freshmen Ametri Moss and Cobey Harraway and strong rebounding by classmates Djordje Gobovic and Ronnail Tape. Eventually, that would give the Manatees a 54-41 lead at the end of the first half.

At the start of the second half, the Jets fought with a 11-4 run to start, forcing the Manatees to call a timeout with the score 58-52. The Manatees would then continue to push their offensive game by sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers, but the Jets started to creep up closer and would eventually tie the game at 89 a piece and send the game to overtime.

Overtime would go in the favor for the Manatees as the Jets continued to foul Weathers and send him to the free throw line in success. The final seconds would be the dagger as freshman Jacari White would draw a foul and score the final two free throws to seal the up set win for the Manatees.

In the end, six players ended up in double figures, with two having a double-double. Harraway was the offensive leader as he finished with a new season-high 27 points (11-for-16 FG, 3-for-5 3PT, 2-for-4 FT), one rebound, one assist and one steal.

Moss and Weathers would follow with 16 points each. Moss (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 5-for-6 FT) added four rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Weathers (4-for-16 FG, 8-for-13 FT) had a double-double with a career-high 13 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. In fact, Weathers was three assists shy of his second career triple-double.

"Pop was our anchor, even though he says himself he struggled out on the floor," said Parks on Weathers. "Everything runs through him and he does a good job not forcing shots and really put his heart out in games where he leads the scoring route, but he did a really good job."

Gobovic would finish with his first collegiate double-double of 13 points (5-for-10 FG, 3-for-4 FT) and 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

"Djordje stepped up on the glass and made some very big plays down the stretch," said Parks on Gobovic. "He definitely showed out on the floor with his blocks and rebounds.

Sophomore Kwo Agwa would add 12 points (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 1-for-2 FT) and four rebounds, while White rounded out the order with 11 points (4-for-11 FG, 1-for-6 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), five rebounds, three assists and one block.

"Jacari's defense is incredible and he knows how to hold it down," said Parks on White.

Sophomores Clarence Cummings III (seven points, five rebounds and three assists) and Christian Nieto (three points, one rebound, one steal and one assist), Tape (one point and five rebounds) and freshman Sam Faraday (one assist) also contributed in the game.

For the Jets, sophomore Marvin McGhee lead the way with 37 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Classmate Will Johnston would follow with 18 points and five assists, while sophomore Jalen Reynolds added a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds with two blocks.

Notes:

Weathers' 16 points put him at 551 in his career and needs 449 to reach the 1,000 points milestone.

Up Next:

The Manatee will start day two of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic as they face RV Georgia Highlands in a rematch Friday night, November 26 at 7 pm.

Before the Manatees play, #7 Eastern Florida State will play #21 South Georgia Tech at 3 pm and will be followed by Indian River State playing Albany Tech at 5 pm.

4th Herd Splits with Huge Win to Open Classic

Rome, Ga - A crucially late 8-0 run in the second half of the first game proved to be the turning point for the SCF basketball team (6-3) in the second half of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic as they defeated RV Georgia Highlands (3-1) 85-82 before falling to #4 Chipola College (5-1) 78-56 at the two-day Dana Davis Classic at the Corral Arena in Rome, Georgia.

SCF vs Georgia Highlands:

"It felt really good to get the win, especially on the road in Georgia and eight and a half hours away from home," said head coach Tom Parks. "Anytime you can pull out a win like this is good. Georgia Highlands is a very good team. Even after watching their film where they only played three games, it was still kind of difficult to see how good they are until you play them in the middle of the game and they're making some unbelievably tough plays while being scrappy and very good defensively, so it was good to get a win against a team ranked in one poll and and receiving votes in the NJCAA National Polls, so that's good, especially on the road and playing against one of the best teams in the country and different regions and we wanted to represent Florida and get the win and that's what we did."

The first half saw it neck and neck with both teams exchanging leads while the Chargers were up by as much as 10 in the first half from several 3-point shots. The Manatees would pull themselves together and put a comeback thanks to successful free throws made by sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers and baskets by redshirt sophomore Clarence Cummings III. Despite the comeback, the Chargers took the first half 42-40.

The second half still continued to play in favor of the Chargers until the last four minutes left in the game. With the score 80-72 Georgia Highlands, the Manatees were able to utilize and 8-0 run thanks to two baskets by Weathers before freshman Cobey Harraway tied the game at 80 apiece before freshman Ametri Moss gave the Manatees an 82-80 lead with a layup with less than a minute left in the game. Cummings III was then fouled and shot two successful free throw to give the Manatees an 84-80 lead. 

After freshman TJ Horton was fouled to cut the deficit to 84-82 after two successful free throws, Harraway was fouled and made one of two at the free throw line to make it 85-82 SCF.

With 12.2 seconds left, the Chargers went for one final shot to send the game to overtime as redshirt freshman Brandon Barron went for the 3-point shot from the corner to no avail as the Manatees sealed the final win.

Four Manatees scored in double figures and it was Weathers that lead the way as he finished with 22 points (7-for-11 FG, 8-for-10 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.

"Pop was really good tonight," said Parks on Weathers.  "He didn't struggle against St. Pete and he honestly holds himself to a standard. I don't think he struggled at all this season because he's learning and growing as a point guard while trying to figure out a new team. We had this conversation many times and last year we asked him to a lot. Whether it was right or wrong, we needed him to be aggressive scoring the basket. He put a lot on his shoulders and right now he's trusting the process of working with a new team with his role as the point guard."

Cummings III would follow with his first collegiate double-double of a season-high 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. In fact, he was four assists away from a triple-double as he added six assists, two steals and a block.

Sophomore Kwo Agwa also finished with 14 points (6-for-FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 1-for-2 FT), three rebounds and a steal off the bench, while Moss rounded out the order with 12 points (5-for-11 FG, 2-for-5 FT), six rebounds and two assists.

Freshmen Djordje Gobovic and Ronnail Tape each had six points. Gobovic (3-for-7 FG) added six rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals, while Tape (2-for-3 FG, 2-for-2 FT) added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Sophomore Javon Bell (three points, two rebounds and two assists), freshman Jacari White (seven points, one rebound and one assist) and Harraway (five points, three rebounds, one assist and three blocks) also contributed in the game.

For the Chargers, four of their players also scored in double figures. Sophomore Jarrel Rosser lead the way with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocks. Classmates Chris Wright and Jayvis Harvey each had 13 points, two assists and two steals with Wright adding three rebounds, while sophomore Christian Jackson rounded out the order with 10 points, three rebounds and one steal.

Sophomore TJ Porter was three points shy of a double-double as he finished with seven points and 16 rebounds before fouling out.

SCF vs Chipola:

Weathers once again lead the Manatees offensively as he finished with 19 points (9-for-14 FG, 1-for-1 FT), five rebounds, two assists, one steal and once block. Gobovic would follow with 10 points (3-for-4 FG, 4-for-4 FT), four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Both Weathers and Gobovic were the only Manatees that scored in double figures.

White and Agwa each finished with eight points. White (2-for-3 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) added three rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Agwa (2-for-6 FG, 4-for-9 FT) added two rebounds and a steal.

Bell (four points, four rebounds, two steals and a block), Cummings III (two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal), Harraway (two points and two assists), Moss (three points and one rebound) and Tape (three rebounds and one assist) also contributed against Chipola.

Notes:

Weathers' 41 points put him at 535 in his career. He needs 465 points to reach 1,000 career points and being the second player under the Parks Era to reach the milestone.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

RV FSW (5-2) split at their hosted FSW Turkey Day Classic. The Buccaneers defeated #20 Snow College (4-1) 67-53 on day one of the FSW Turkey Day Classic before losing 85-71 to RV Spartanburg Methodist (7-1) on day two. They will face St. Pete (3-4) Tuesday night, November 23. FSW was ranked #19 in the nation before dropping out of the NJCAA Top 25 Poll.

Miami Dade (4-3) swept the two-day MDC Shark Classic after defeating ASA Miami (2-4) 80-67 on day one and DME Academy 75-73 in overtime on day two. The Sharks will travel to Marianna to take on #12 Northwest Florida State (5-1) Tuesday night, November 23.

Weekly Southern Conference Schedule:

11/25:

Indian River State vs RV Georgia Highlands @ SCF

11/26:

Indian River State vs Albany Tech @ SCF

11/27:

Indian River State vs South Georgia Tech @ SCF

Hillsborough vs St. Pete

Miami Dade vs #12 Northwest Florida State

11/28:

Miami Dade vs #4 Chipola

11/30:

RV FSW vs Polk State

Up Next:

The Manatees return home to Hal Chasey Gymnasium for the second half of the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic as they welcome Georgia Highlands in a rematch as well as welcoming #17 South Georgia Tech (6-0) and Albany Tech (5-0). Indian River State (7-1) and #7 Eastern Florida State (5-1) will also travel to Bradenton to compete in the classic.

4th Herd Takes Big Road Win Over SPC

St. Petersburg, Fla - After splitting last weekend on the road, the SCF basketball team (5-2) pushed themselves to a tight road game as they defeated St. Pete College (2-4) 68-63 at the Gibbs Gymnasium in St. Petersburg. With the win, the Manatees are now 14-19 against the Titans.

"It was really big to get a win over St. Pete," said head coach Tom Parks.  "They are a tough, scrappy and aggressive team with some good returners and good freshmen. I thought they played a really good game and it's a tough place to win against a hall of fame coach, so anytime you can come out with a win, after playing St. Pete, it's always a good feeling."

Side Note w/ Personal Opinion: Parks referred SPC head coach Earnest Crumbley as a hall of fame coach.  I mean Crumbley has been with SPC for 23 years, which is amazing, so in a way, I would think he would be a hall of fame coach as well.

"I thought overall we played pretty good, despite it being a fairly low-scoring game," said Parks on the team's performance. "I thought the officials really let us play, so it was a very physical game, especially under the basket. Those kind of games are a lot of fun. On both sides, they let us play, which plays into our advantages. I thought we did a good job containing them on the glass for the most part with a really good team effort with a bunch of guys stepping up. Pop and Clarence both had good games and Djordje Gobovic had a lot of good rebounds. Overall, all of the guys that went in played good individual and team defense down the stretch when we needed it and everyone chipped in on their part for us to get the win."

The Manatees were off to a slow start in the first half after being up 12-9, but soon they would go up by as much as nine points before taking the first half 39-35.

The second half saw the Titans start to creep up as they were able to take the lead for a brief amount of time, but the Manatees continued to scrap at the Titans as they took a 64-63 lead with two minutes. From there, sophomore Clarence Cummings III would seal the deal with four straight free throws in success for the Manatees and the win.

Three Manatees scored in double figures. It was sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers that lead the way offensively as he finished with 20 points (9-for-14 FG, 2-for-2 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one steal.

"Pop really stood out and was very efficient," said Parks on Weathers. "He made a lot of big shots down the stretch for us. I thought he took some really good ones and didn't force them. His finish to contact on his shots were great."

Cummings III would follow with 12 points (4-for-10 FG, 4-for-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal, while freshman Cobey Harraway rounded out the order with 11 points (4-for-11 FG, 1-for-5 3PT, 2-for-3 FT), two rebounds and one steal.

"Clarence played really good and Cobey had some big plays in the second half," said Parks on Cummings III and Harraway. "They both did a really good job on the glass on both sides of the floor."

Freshman Djordje Gobovic would secure and surpass a season-high 16 rebounds to go along with six points, one assist and one block, while classmate Jacari White added seven points (2-for-6 FG, 1-for-4 3PT, 2-for-3 FT), one rebound, four assists and two steals.

Sophomores Javon Bell (five points, four rebounds and two blocks) and Kwo Agwa (two points, two rebounds and one steal) and freshmen Ametri Moss (five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals) and Ronnail Tape (two rebounds, one assist and one block) also contributed in the game.

For the Titans, freshman Ludwig Isaac Brito lead the way with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while classmate Zane Nelson followed with 13 points and four rebounds. 

Notes:

Weathers' 20 points put him at 494 in his career and needs 506 to reach 1,000 career points

Personal Opinion: Do I think Weathers has the chance to reach 1,000 career points? Absolutely! How many games will it take him to do so? My honest guess would be five games during conference play. If he gets it before that, either way it's still amazing.

Other Southern Conference Scores:

Indian River State (6-1) defeated Daytona State (1-5) 102-86 on the road. The Pioneers will face Polk State (4-1) Saturday afternoon, November 20.

Miami Dade (2-3) defeated Fort Lauderdale University JV 100-41. The Sharks will host the two-day Shark Classic as they welcome ASA Miami (2-2) and DME Academy Friday night and Saturday afternoon, November 19-20.

Southern Conference Weekly Schedule:

11/18:

HCC vs Pasco-Hernando State

11/19:

#19 FSW vs #20 Snow College (FSW Turkey Day Classic)

Miami Dade vs ASA Miami (MDC Shark Classic)

11/20:

#19 FSW vs Spartanburg Methodist (FSW Turkey Day Classic)

Indian River State vs Polk State

MDC vs DME Academy (MDC Shark Classic)

HCC vs RADD Sports Elite Postgrad

11/23:

#19 FSW vs SPC

Up Next:

The Manatees mark their calendars for their long awaited two-part classic as they travel to Georgia for part one of the the Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic. They will take on #5 Chipola College (4-1) and RV Georgia Highlands (3-0) at Floyd Campus Gymnasium in Rome, Georgia.

4th Herd Set for Thanksgiving Classic

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (5-2) has set sight on a new challenge for the next five games as they will compete in the Florida vs Georgia JUCO Basketball Classic. The Manatees will first travel to Rome, Georgia for the two-day Dana Davis Classic to face #5 Chipola College (4-1) and host RV Georgia Highlands College (3-0) at the Corral Arena Friday and Saturday afternoon, November 20-21 at 3 and 7 pm.

Four days later, during the Thanksgiving weekend, the second half of the classic will take place at Hal Chasey Gymnasium where the Manatees will welcome RV Georgia Highlands, #21 South Georgia Tech (5-0) and Albany Tech (4-0), November 25-27.

#24 Indian River State (7-1) and #4 Eastern Florida State (5-1) will travel to Bradenton to also compete in the classic, but the Manatees will not play Eastern Florida State as they played them earlier in the season and will not play Indian River State until Southern Conference play.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of another road game where they defeated former Suncoast Conference rival St. Pete College 68-63 in a tight game.

Origin of Classic:

Head coach Tom Parks originated the classic after a humorous Twitter war against the head coaches from Georgia. One tweet lead to another and it was confirmed and made official for this season. Soon after, #4 Eastern Florida State, #24 Indian River State and #5 Chipola joined the fray and joined SCF in the classic to make it official.

Popping Near 1,000:

Sophomore James 'Pop' Weathers continues leading the path for the Manatees' offense while setting a milestone of his own. Weathers is averaging 17.7 points, six rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Against SPC, he had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Additionally, Weathers is at 494 career points and needs 506 more to reach 1,000 points in his career.

Classmate Javon Bell is averaging 11 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, despite being held to five points while adding four rebounds and two blocks against SPC.

Wild Card Showdown:

Four players have been deemed as wildcards for their game performances: sophomore Clarence Cummings III and freshmen Cobey Harraway, Jacari White and Djordje Gobovic.

Since his transfer from Hillsborough CC, Cummings III is averaging 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He had 12 points and four rebounds against SPC.

Harraway is averaging 12 points per game, in which he had 11 points off the bench against SPC.

White, a key defender on steals, is averaging 2.3 steals to go along with averaging 10.1 points and four rebounds per game. He had seven points, one rebound and two steals against SPC off the bench.

Gobovic has played a big role as the big man for the team as he is averaging 5.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Gobovic surpassed his season-high in rebounds with 16 to go along with six points and one block against SPC.

Fun Fact:

The Manatees are 2-1 against teams from Georgia.

Scouting Chipola:

The Indians are coming off of splitting at the Florida JUCO Shootout in Melbourne after losing to then #11 Eastern Florida State 73-71 in overtime before defeating then RV Santa Fe College 74-69.

Sophomore Nae'qwan Tomlin leads the team averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game, while freshman Shayeon Davis follows averaging 12.4 points per game.

Scouting EFSC:

The Titans moved up to #1 in the FCSAA Coaches poll and #4 in the nation's top 25 poll after sweeping their hosted Florida JUCO Shootout over Chipola (73-71) and SCF (71-69). They opened their first two games of the season with wins over Central Pointe Academy (95-71) and ASA Miami (78-28).

The Titans will play in the FSW Turkey Day Classic prior to the Florida vs Georgia Classic against Spartanburg Methodist and #20 Snow College in Fort Myers.

Freshmen Derrick Butler (11.5 ppg) and Reggie Hill (11.8 ppg) lead the path in scoring with Butler averaging 4.5 rebounds and three steals per game and Hill averaging 9.5 rebounds per game.

Scouting Georgia Highlands:

Georgia Highlands is one of three of the Georgia teams representing NJCAA Region 17 (Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association) and are receiving votes in the NJCAA Top 25 National Polls.

The Chargers are lead by head coach Jonathan "JJ" Merritt, who enters his second season as head coach, and are coming off of an 82-78 win over Chattahoochee Valley.

Five players are averaging in double digit scoring: sophomores Jarrel Rosser (14.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game), TJ Porter (11 points, 7.5 rebounds and two blocks per game), Jayvis Harvey (11 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game), Christian Jackson (10 points and three rebounds per game) and Jarred Rosser (10 points and 1.5 steals per game).

Scouting South Georgia Tech:

South Georgia Tech is lead by head coach Chris Ballauer, who enters his ninth season as head coach. The Jets, who are ranked #21 in the nation in the NJCAA Top 25 Polls, are coming off of a 84-82 win over Chattahoochee Valley. They will play Action Sports Academy prior to the classic.

Sophomore Marvin McGhee leads the team averaging 24 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game, while classmate William Johnston follows averaging 21 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.

Sophomore Jalen Reynolds is leading the Jets averaging 9.4 rebounds, while also averaging 11 points and 1.8 blocks per game.

Scouting Albany Tech:

Albany Tech is lead by head coach Timothy Dal Bon, who enters his second season as head coach. The Titans are coming off of an 89-67 win over Enterprise State College and an 90-65 win over Florida Gateway College. They will play Action Sports Academy prior to the classic.

Sophomore Cam Singletary averages 16.8 points, 4.5 assists and 5.3 steals per game. Classmate Jalen Nesmith follows averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.

Sophomore John Egbuta and Khalyl Simmons are both averaging 13.3 points per game. Egbuta also averages five rebounds per game, while Simmons averages 2.8 rebounds per game.

Series History:

While it is the first time the Manatees play Georgia Highlands, South Georgia Tech and Albany Tech, they are 1-2 against the Indians. In their last outings, the Manatees split with the Indians, losing their season opener on the road 81-71 before defeating them at Hal Chasey 69-67.

The games for SCF's road games will air livestream on the Georgia Chargers YouTube page (Chargers Sports Network) and the games at home will air livestream on the SCF Sports Network. The SCF Sports Network will air the other games as well.

Schedule Breakdown:

11/25:

#4 EFSC vs Albany Tech @ 12 pm

Indian River State vs RV Georgia Highlands @ 2 pm*

SCF vs #21 South Georgia Tech @ 4 pm*

11/26:

#21 South Georgia Tech vs #4 EFSC @ 3 pm

Albany Tech vs Indian River State @ 5 pm*

SCF vs RV Georgia Highlands @ 7 pm*

11/27:

Indian River State vs #21 South Georgia Tech @ 2 pm

#4 EFSC vs RV Georgia Highlands @ 4 pm*

SCF vs Albany Tech @ 6 pm*

*Game times are not official until the first game is completed

Chargers Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChargersSportsNetwork

SCF Sports Network: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/