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:
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment