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Bradenton, Fla - The SCF basketball team (11-6, 1-0 Southern) were put to the test to start their part in Southern Conference play as they defeated Hillsborough (13-4, 0-2 Southern) 0-0 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium 80-72 to open Southern Conference play. With the win, the Manatees are now 17-19 against the Hawks.
"It feels good to have a good win like this tonight, especially in conference," said head coach Tom Parks. "Today, the guys stepped up in different moments of the game. Despite the outcome, the game was incredibly 'ugly', but I feel like we're a team that always wins 'ugly' and if we continue to win like that, I'm ok with it, but we still have a lot of layers that we need to cover on our team and that we can work on offensively and defensively that we're not getting to, even we were able to put up 80 points. I feel like we're starting to fill up roles on our team as we should with 11 games left in the season, but the guys are stepping up and making plays when they need to. We had a much better second half and it showed us being able to outscore them (HCC), but it was a fun for us."
"In the beginning we were a little more sloppy and ugly than how we want it to be," said sophomore Cobey Harraway. "Obviously, I think we came out pretty and traded punches with HCC and we would have liked to punch them while dodge some of the punches they threw, but we went into the half down two possessions and figured out what we needed to do in the locker room at halftime and came out strong in the second half. With the way we play, we usually get the other teams tired in the first half, so when we play the second half, the other team is usually dead and that's when were at our best and kept pushing."
"We had a rough start and then had to switch it up to turn the game around," said sophomore Ametri Moss. "We had some great plays in the beginning and stuck through it the whole time and turned it around in the second half. We got the lead and kept it up. We did amazing."
"I think we did good overall," said sophomore Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue. "We just got to do better coming out the gate. I felt on my end, I got to hold myself more accountable and not turn the ball over as much to keep me and my team in the game motivated, even if we stay motivated during the game. We just have to keep working together for 40 minutes."
The opening to the first half was slow for both teams with the Hawks scoring their first points off of a 3-pointer, while sophomore Ronnail Tape got the Manatees' first points by free throws. Soon, the Hawks would take the upper advantage off of missed opportunities by the Manatees offense, but the Manatees would fight back and cut the deficit to four. The Hawks would take the first half 37-33.
In the second half, the Manatees would wake up on the offensive end thanks to defense from Josue and Moss that would eventually give the Manatees their first lead of the game. While the Hawks tried to cut the Manatees' lead to one point, the Manatees would fight back with sophomore Skylar Wicks 3-point shooting and rebounding. With a final rebound and free throw from freshman Elijah 'Slim' Terry, the Manatees would seal the deal for their first conference win of the season.
Three Manatees would score in double figures. It was Moss and Wick that would lead the way as they both finished with 18 points a piece. Moss (8-for-10 FG, 3-for-5 FT), five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks off the bench, while Wick (5-for-16 FG, 3-for-6 3PT, 5-for-6 FT) secured his first collegiate double-double by adding 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks).
"My mindset was to help my teammates get the win," said Moss on his game. "Our focus was defense and that's what will win us championship while offense wins us our games. I was a little worried at first, but it worked out for me in the end."
"Meech is someone I can expect things from him because he's a great player," said Parks on Moss. "He's super talented on both ends on the floor that many teams are not able to do and I'm just excited to see him in this rhythm since returning from his injury. He's someone that wants this really bad and he's the guy I root for. He really provides a spark for us that will help us in conference."
"Many teams are going to try and stop Sky from his scoring and force him to take tough shots," said Parks on Wicks. "He bought into it in the beginning, but in the second half, he settled down and was very solid."
Harraway would round out the order with 14 points (4-for-11 FG, 1-for-3 3PT, 5-for-6 FT), five rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks. 12 of his points were in the first half
"The great thing about our team is that we have a lot of guys that can produce and score while some guys score more in the second half," said Harraway on his game. "While I may have had less touches in the second half, I went in at the end of the day and did what I needed to do as my goal to provide for the team."
"Cobey is 'Cobey'," said Parks on Harraway. "He does what he does and continues to do that every day and he never has a bad day."
In rebounding, apart from Wicks, Grady and Tape would lead with seven and six rebounds respectively, while Josue finished with four points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Grady added nine points (4-for-11 FG, 1-for-5 3PT), two assists and one steal, while Tape had four points, two steals and one block before fouling out.
"I felt like I could have played a lot better when I control the ball and finding my teammates," said Josue. "It's sometimes can be difficult for me, especially trying to score with the ball, but my defense is what always converses to offense."
Terry (three points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block), redshirt freshman Zach Smith (one rebound and one assist) and freshmen Josh Ijeh (five points, four rebounds and three blocks), Malyk Rebetez (three points and one assist) and Dresean Knight (two points) also contributed in the game.
For the Hawks, four players scored in double figures. Geordon Rogers lead the way with 16 points, six rebounds and a steal. Dominic Gordon followed with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Caleb McCray and Jasper Floyd rounded out the order with 13 points each. McCray added three rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block before fouling out, while Floyd added four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Notes:
The win for the Manatees was done on the day before coach Parks' 35th birthday.
Other Southern Conference Scores:
Miami Dade (13-7, 2-0 Southern) pulled off an upset for themselves as they defeated #22 Florida Southwestern (13-4, 1-1 Southern) 50-49. The Sharks will take on Indian River State (13-5, 0-1 Southern) Saturday afternoon, January 14 at 4 pm.
Southern Conference Standings:
1. MDC (13-7, 2-0)
2. SCF (11-6, 1-0)
3. #22 FSW (13-4, 1-1)
4. IRSC (13-5, 0-1)
5. HCC (13-4, 0-2)
Up Next:
The Manatees return to Fort Myers for their first conference game on the road as they face #22 FSW Saturday afternoon, January 14 at 4 pm.
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