“I thought we did a good job at staying composed and not getting worked up of sorts when they (Gulf Coast State) were on a run,” said head coach Tom Parks. "I thought they punched first at first and we were a little shocked, but once we kind of got in a rhythm I thought we did a much better job. While there are some things we need to clean up, overall it was nice to see us get punched and not just sit there to take it and punch back to be aggressive."
“I thought we did well today against Gulf Coast State,” said sophomore Sky Wicks. "I think every day we get better learning how to string wins along, which can be difficult while making plays down the stretch helped us win."
“I thought we did great,” said sophomore Ametri Moss. "We came out with intensity and a bang together. We sealed the deal with our play."
“I thought we did pretty good,” said freshman Malyk Rebetez. "We started off slow, but then we figured out by stop turning the ball over on their main guy. In the second half, we had that offensive boost and pressed them so much that it made them (Gulf Coast State) tired on the long term.
The first half was looking to be in the favor for the Commodores as they went up by as much as 15 points, but the Manatees were able to cut the deficit down to single digits with Wicks' 3-point shooting, rebounding from freshman Josh Ijeh and Moss scoring off the bench. Although they cut the deficit, the Commodores took the first half 51-48.
At the second half, the Manatees gathered everything to plan and took advantage of open offensive opportunities and 3-point shots from Wicks and sophomore Ronnail Tape. Eventually, the Manatees gained the lead over the Commodores and went up by as much as 13 points before Wicks sealed the final dagger with two final free throws for the win.
Five Manatees lead the way offensively in double digit scoring. Wicks would be the main offensive leader as the Missouri State University transfer set a new career-high 43 points (13-for-20 FG, 6-for-10 3PT, 11-for-13 FT), seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
"I was just trying to stay aggressive, shoot when I'm open and make the right read every time," said Wicks on his game. "I just continued to keep working on it every day."
"I didn't even realize that Sky had that many points, which sometimes always happens on my part," said Parks on Wicks. "It happens when I'm fixated on making adjustments to our play and I didn't even make a play for them. I thought the other players did a good job at finding him so he can create and take a shot opportunity while he was trying to get his man to step up to him. Sky had the hot hand tonight and made great decisions for us as a team.
Moss, who came off the bench, followed with a season-high 16 points (7-for-13 FG, 2-for-5 3PT), two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, while Tape finished with 12 points (4-for-4 FG, 2-for-2 3PT. 1-for-1 FT), four rebounds and one steal before fouling our.
"Today I was looking for open spots on the floor to shoot," said Moss on his game.
Sophomore Cobey Harraway finished with 11 points (3-for-8 FG, 3-for-7 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one steal, while classmate Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue rounded out the order with 10 points (4-for-5 FG, 2-for-3 FT), three assists and one steal.
In passing, Rebetez would be the leader as the Swiss native had a season-high eight assists to go along with two points, three rebounds and one steal.
"I had to be aggressive to get to the paint and make some else miss while I get to the open guy on the floor," said Rebetez on his passing. "It really helped us out to a great team win."
In rebounding, Ijeh lead the way with 11 boards to go along with six points, one assist, one steal and two blocks before fouling out, while freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry had six rebounds to go along with two points, two assists, one steal and one block.
Redshirt freshman Zach Smith (one rebound) and freshman Dresean Knight (three points, one rebound and one block) also contributed in the game.
Notes:
Freshman Kasheem Grady was not with the team as he was facing a two-game suspension.
Other Southern Conference Scores:
Florida Southwestern State (6-3) defeated Gulf Coast State on Saturday by a score of 91-74. The Buccaneers will take on Florida Coastal Prep Tuesday night, December 6 at 7 pm.
RV Indian River State (10-1) defeated Palm Beach State (3-4) 90-85 on Saturdat. The Pioneers will take on Polk State (4-5) Monday night, December 5 at 5:30 pm.
Hillsborough (10-1) defeated Pro Holmes Sports Academy on Saturday by a score of 114-78. The Hawks will take on Polk State Wednesday night, December 7 at 7 pm.
Up Next:
The Manatees will head back on the road on neutral grounds for the next two games as they will participate in the two-day Florida JUCO Shootout December 10-11. They will face Gulf Coast State in a rematch and Pensacola State (8-4). Both games will be at noon.
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